The movement of oil tankers in and out of Venezuelan waters has come to a near halt after the US seized the ship and its fuel cargo.
Venezuela’s oil exports have plummeted since the United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela this week and imposed new sanctions on shipping companies doing business with the disputed Latin American nation.
Oil tanker traffic to and from Venezuelan waters has all but stopped, Reuters reported on Friday, after the United States announced it would seize more vessels as part of its military pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
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Wednesday’s seizure of the skipper tanker marked the first time the United States has seized a Venezuelan oil cargo since the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Caracas in 2019. The incident also occurred amid a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean that appears to be aimed at removing President Maduro from power.
The threat of further seizures has left a tanker carrying around 11 million barrels of oil and fuel stranded in Venezuelan waters, fearing it will sail further, according to data and documents reviewed by Reuters.
According to Reuters, since the Skipper’s seizure, the only tanker to have left port and sailed into international waters with Venezuelan crude oil was a tanker chartered by US oil giant Chevron. Chevron is authorized by the U.S. government to operate in Venezuela through a joint venture with state oil company PDVSA and can export oil to the United States.
Chevron confirmed this week that it was operating in Venezuela “without disruption and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” and had exported two cargoes of Venezuelan heavy crude oil to the United States since the Skipper’s seizure, Reuters reported.
On Friday, as the ship’s captain was taken to Houston, Texas, to offload a seized fuel cargo, President Trump reiterated that the U.S. military would launch ground strikes against drug-trafficking targets in Latin America.
Trump said at the White House that the U.S. military, which has attacked ships in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean for weeks and killed about 90 people, has stopped 96% of drug trafficking by water into the United States.
The United States also claims to have attacked drug-trafficking ships, but no evidence has been provided, while international law experts say the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings by the United States on the high seas.
President Trump says Maduro has “limited life expectancy”
The Agencia Venezuela news site reported on Friday that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has filed a formal complaint with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) accusing the US government of “violating freedom of navigation in the Caribbean.”
Rodriguez told the IMO that the U.S.’s “despicable robbery” of Venezuelan oil was an “internationally illegal act,” the news agency said. It added: “The vice president also reiterated that Washington’s threatening actions are unrelated to the supposed fight against drug trafficking.”
On Monday, President Trump said in an interview that Maduro’s “days are numbered” but did not rule out a ground invasion of Venezuela by U.S. forces.
The US government has accused the Venezuelan president of leading the Suns Cartel, which the US has labeled a “narco-terrorist” organization, and has offered a $50 million reward for Maduro’s capture.
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against three of Maduro’s relatives and six shipping companies and six ships involved in transporting Venezuelan oil, a move that could jeopardize his leadership.
“Without oil exports, this could affect the foreign exchange market and the country’s imports, leading to an economic crisis,” Elias Ferrer of Venezuelan advisory firm Orinoco Research told AFP news agency.
“Not only because of the recession, but also because there will be shortages of food and medicine, and we won’t be able to import them,” Ferrer said.
Before the oil tanker was seized this week, Venezuela had exported about 952,000 barrels of oil and fuel per day in November, about 80% of which went directly or indirectly to China.
