(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four companies and their associated oil tankers for allegedly transporting Venezuelan oil as the Trump administration seeks to escalate its pressure on the country.
The new sanctions come after the US seized two tankers off the coast of Venezuela that were carrying Venezuelan oil, cargo that President Trump has said the US intends to keep, an action that amounts to outright theft.
One of the tankers seized by the US was under US sanctions, while the other was not. Either way, the US has no legal right to capture foreign vessels in international waters. Trump administration officials have used legalistic language to frame the seizures as law enforcement operations, likely to obscure the fact that enforcing a naval blockade is traditionally considered an act of war.
According to US officials, the US Coast Guard has continued to chase the Bella 1, a tanker it attempted to seize near Venezuela last week, but has fled into the Atlantic Ocean. CNN reported on Wednesday that the crew of the vessel painted a Russian flag on the hull, which US officials believe is an attempt to claim Russian protection.
The CNN report said that the Trump administration may abandon the pursuit of the Bella 1, but assets have been readied in case the White House orders the capture of the vessel, which would require a Maritime Special Response Team with experience in boarding vessels that do not submit to seizure.
The administration has continued to escalate its aggression against Venezuela with the goal of ousting President Nicolas Maduro. President Trump has claimed that the US blew up a dock facility inside Venezuela, and US officials speaking to media outlets have said the attack was a CIA drone strike against an empty facility allegedly used by the gan Tren de Aragua, but there’s no confirmation of the operation from Venezuelan sources.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
