WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. β The U.S. Coast Guard pursued another sanctioned oil tankerΒ SundayΒ in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to intensify its targeting of such vessels connected to Venezuelan government.
The pursuit of the tanker, confirmed by a U.S. official briefed on the operation, came after the U.S. administration announced Saturday that it seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday's pursuit involved "a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion."
The official said the vessel flew a false flag and was under a judicial seizure order.
Evana, an oil tanker, is docked Sunday at El Palito port in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.
The Coast Guard's pursuit of the tanker was first reported by Reuters.
Saturday's predawn seizure of a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries targeted what the White House described as a "falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil."
The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the U.S. says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. It was not flying a nation's flag when it was seized by the Coast Guard.
President Donald Trump holds a cellphone with a call to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as he departs FridayΒ at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport in Elm City, N.C.
President Donald Trump, after that first seizure, said the U.S. would carry out a "blockade" of Venezuela, as he ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Venezuelan President NicolΓ‘s Maduro.
This past week, Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a "blockade" against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions.
Trump cited the lost U.S. investments in Venezuela when asked about his newest tactic in a pressure campaign against Maduro, suggesting the Republican administration's moves are at least somewhat motivated by disputes over oil investments, along with accusations of drug trafficking. Some sanctioned tankers already diverted away from Venezuela.
U.S. oil companies dominated Venezuela's petroleum industry until the country's leaders moved to nationalize the sector, first in the 1970s and again in the 21st century under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo ChΓ‘vez. Compensation that VenezuelaΒ offered was deemed insufficient, and in 2014 an international arbitration panel ordered the country's socialist government to pay $1.6 billion to ExxonMobil.
President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters Dec. 10 during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela.
Maduro said in a message Sunday on Telegram that Venezuela spent months "denouncing, challenging and defeating a campaign of aggression that goes from psychological terrorism to corsairs attacking oil tankers." He added: "We are ready to accelerate the pace of our deep revolution!"
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is critical of Trump's Venezuela policy, called the tanker seizures a βprovocation and a prelude to war.β
βLook, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we donβt like that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations,β Paul said on ABC's' βThis Week." βBut it isnβt the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world."
The targeting of tankers comes as Trump ordered the Defense Department to attack vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that his administration alleges smuggle fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the United States and beyond.
At least 104 people were killed in 28 known strikes since early September. The strikes faced scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and human rights activists, who say the administration offered scant evidence that its targets are drug smugglers and argue the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.
Trump repeatedly said Maduro's days in power are numbered. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair published last week that Trump "wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle."
Democrats pressed Trump to seek congressional authorization for the military action in the Caribbean.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Trump's use of military to mount pressure on Maduro runs contrary to Trump's pledge to keep the U.S. out of unnecessary wars.
"We should be using sanctions and other tools at our disposal to punish this dictator who is violating the human rights of his civilians and has run the Venezuelan economy into the ground," Kaine said. "But I'll tell you, we should not be waging war against Venezuela. We definitely should not be waging war without a vote of Congress.
