Venezuela deploys warships to escort oil tankers after US statements
Illustrative photo: oil tanker (Getty Images)
Venezuela’s authorities have ordered the use of naval forces to escort vessels carrying petroleum products departing from the country’s ports, according to The New York Times.
The outlet reports that the decision was taken after statements by the US president about a possible blockade of Venezuelan shipments.
According to journalists, several cargo vessels left Venezuela’s coast overnight on December 17 under the protection of naval warships.
The ships are carrying consignments of urea, petroleum coke, and other oil-industry products, most of which are bound for Asian countries.
A US administration official confirmed that Washington is aware of Caracas’s actions and is assessing possible response options.
Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, for its part, said that vessels linked to its operations continue to sail "in complete safety," with the necessary technical support and operational guarantees to exercise what it described as the lawful right to freedom of navigation.
The Venezuelan government sharply criticized Donald Trump’s statements, describing them as irresponsible and as posing a serious risk of escalation. Caracas also accused the United States of violating international law and said it would continue to defend its rights to free trade, navigation, sovereignty, and national independence.
US–Venezuela tensions
On December 16, US President Donald Trump said he had ordered a full blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers heading to or from Venezuela. He said the measures would remain in place until Venezuela returned to the United States "all the oil, land, and other assets" it allegedly had taken.
Trump also announced that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been designated a "foreign terrorist organization."
Earlier, the United States seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In addition, a group of four tankers that had initially been heading toward Venezuela changed course after the US intercepted the vessel Skipper.
The Pentagon has carried out more than 20 strikes on vessels suspected of involvement in drug trafficking in waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in dozens of fatalities.
Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States could carry out strikes on targets on land and that Maduro should be removed from power.
