US Tightens Grip on Venezuelan Oil, Seizes Tanker as Opposition Leader Heads to White House

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – U.S. forces have seized another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, underscoring the Trump administration’s tightening grip on Venezuela’s oil sector as opposition leader Maria Corina Machado prepares to meet President Donald Trump.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Motor Tanker Veronica was boarded in a predawn operation after violating Washington’s quarantine on sanctioned Venezuelan vessels. The tanker had previously transited Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of U.S. restrictions, she said.

The operation involved a Coast Guard tactical team supported by U.S. Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. U.S. Southern Command said the boarding was carried out without incident as part of Operation Southern Spear, a campaign targeting illicit maritime networks tied to Venezuelan oil exports.

The Veronica is the sixth tanker seized under the operation and the third since the U.S. ouster of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. Following Maduro’s capture, the Trump administration said it intends to oversee Venezuela’s oil production and exports indefinitely, with U.S. energy companies expected to invest heavily in rebuilding the sector.

The latest seizure comes just days before Trump’s first in-person meeting with Machado since Maduro’s removal, a session expected to focus on Venezuela’s political transition and the future of its energy industry.

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