U.S. seizes Venezuelan tanker
The news President Trump announced Wednesday that the United States had seized a sanctioned tanker off of Venezuela's coast is a big one.
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared the footage first of a mix of American forces and law enforcement flying to the ship by helicopter, boarding, and taking the ship into custody.
The move is highly significant and viewed as the latest upping of the ante by the administration.
Currently, the ship is being moved to an undisclosed location.
Why it matters
Oil is big business for Venezuela. The country holds roughly 17% of global proven oil reserves — about 300 billion barrels. Over 80% goes to China.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan oil, which have hampered the country financially. They, like other countries such as Iran and Russia, employ a "shadow fleet" of tankers to move the oil and evade sanctions.
You may recall some of our reporting from the Baltic Sea, where Russia used its so-called "Shadow Fleet" to evade U.S. sanctions. I went more in-depth for this piece in The Hill, showing how far nations will go.
In this case, the ship was flagged under Guyana, but the country says this was done illegally.
"The Maritime Administration Department has observed the proliferation and unacceptable trend of the unauthorised use of the Guyana flag by vessels that are not registered in Guyana," the agency said in a statement.
So the U.S. is hitting Venezuela where it hurts.
What's next?
The president says all options are on the table, and is prepared to keep upping the pressure on Nicolas Maduro.
Notably, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado was asked about the incident and said, "These criminal groups have to be stopped, and cutting the sources of illegal activities is a very necessary step to take."
Asked about the possibility of a U.S. invasion of Venezuela, she responded, "Venezuela has already been occupied by forces from totalitarian regimes such as Russia, Iran, Cuba, and criminal groups such as Hezbollah. That's why we are certainly asking the world to act. It's not a matter of statements, as you say, it's a matter of actions."
Around the globe, some of Venezuela's allies have denounced the move, including Russia. The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and assured the Venezuelan leader he has Russia's support.
Things are moving quickly here. Will update again soon.
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