Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Tensions continue to rise in the Caribbean. The United States continues to confiscate and pursue Venezuelan oil tankers, while Caracas denounces what it considers an “act of international piracy” at the UN.

US hostilities continue in the Caribbean. The US Coast Guard has gone after its third “prey” in international waters. According to information from US authorities, the ship “Bella 1” was headed to Venezuela to pick up oil when US forces attempted to apprehend it. “Bella 1” continued sailing, which led to a maritime chase, according to Kristi Noem, US Secretary of Homeland Security.

“The US Coast Guard is actively pursuing a sanctioned vessel from the dark fleet that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion … It is sailing under a false flag and under a court order for seizure,” said an anonymous official who spoke to CNN.

Washington confirmed on December 20 that it had intercepted and forcibly confiscated a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, called “Centuries”, something that the Chavista government has now repeatedly denounced as an act of “international piracy”.

Although White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “Centuries” was a sanctioned vessel, it does not appear on the list of vessels unilaterally sanctioned by Washington, leading several analysts to fear that it is no longer just the 30 sanctioned vessels that are being targeted, but all Venezuelan ships, which will be seized by force if the opportunity arises.

Caracas’ diplomatic and legal rejection

For her part, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez stated: “Venezuela rejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel carrying Venezuelan oil … [We will take] all appropriate actions, including reporting this to the United Nations Security Council, other multilateral organizations, and the governments of the world.”

Furthermore, it is important to note that the Venezuelan National Assembly has proposed a law that seeks to fine and imprison for up to 20 years anyone who promotes, solicits, supports, finances, or participates in acts of piracy, blockades, and other similar acts against national institutions.

Pursuing and capturing Venezuelan ships: the new mission of the US Coast Guard

Following the seizure of the first Venezuelan oil tanker, “Skipper”, US forces are continuing their plan to economically strangle Venezuela by seizing more Venezuelan oil in the Caribbean Sea.

Read more: “Piracy”: Venezuela responds to the US seizure of its oil tanker

In recent days, Trump said, “we will keep” the oil seized from the first ship on December 10. A few hours later, through his social network, Truth Social, Trump went further and claimed that Venezuelan oil was “ours”, that is, the United States’. 

According to Trump, the nationalization of Venezuelan oil in the 1970s was “theft”.

These statements led Venezuelan authorities to confirm suspicions that the main reason for taking action against Venezuela has more to do with economic issues than national security or the fight against drug trafficking.

Washington has claimed that the Chavista government is part of a criminal structure called the Cartel of the Suns. However, Caracas flatly denies the accusations and affirms that the flimsy accusation is a media ploy to justify a military invasion that would change the government to one in favor of the US; essentially, a US-puppet president. Following this, foreign companies would take over the Caribbean country’s natural resources, as has been promised by far-right opposition leader María Corina Machado. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world.

The beginning of a new blockade in the Caribbean

For more than 60 years, the United States has maintained an economic and commercial blockade on Cuba. This has caused enormous difficulties for the socialist country to maintain and develop its economy. Despite this, Cuba, to the surprise of humanity, has managed to circumvent the blockade and resist attempts to boycott the revolutionary process on the island.

The United States hopes that this strategy will have a different effect in Venezuela. Under the constant threat of a military invasion, which would cause the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people, Washington is betting on blocking Venezuelan tankers to destroy an economy that is deeply dependent on oil.

Last week, Trump ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela for allegedly trading with groups that pose a threat to US security. About 30 of the 80 Venezuelan ships that transport oil have been sanctioned by the United States, which significantly reduces the Venezuelan economy’s room for maneuver, without ruling out future sanctions or a total blockade.

Read More: “Venezuela will never again be a colony”: Maduro government denounces Trump’s oil blockade

International condemnation  

The Venezuelan government has denounced the confiscation of Venezuelan oil tankers to the highest international bodies. Before the UN Security Council, which met in emergency session on December 23, Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s representative, said that the United States wants to impose a colonial system on his country. “[These operations are] the greatest extortion known in our history, a gigantic crime of aggression unfolding outside of any national parameters, legal logic, or historical precedent.” Moncada emphasized, “It’s not drugs, it’s not security, it’s not freedom; it is oil, it’s the mines, it’s the land.”

For his part, Washington representative Mike Waltz justified the actions as part of the fight against drug trafficking, which is why his country considers the matter to be a “non-international armed conflict”. “The United States will apply maximum sanctions to deprive Maduro of the resources he uses to finance the Cartel of the Suns, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States,” Waltz said.

Read More: Trump threatens military operations in Colombia and Mexico

Both Russia and China have publicly questioned Washington’s actions, considering them “dangerous”. Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya stated: “The actions committed by the United States violate all fundamental norms of international law.” Sun Lei, China’s representative, said that his country “opposes all acts of unilateralism and intimidation and supports all countries in defending their sovereignty and national dignity … Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian added his voice to these denunciations. According to Telesur: “Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sent his support in a phone call to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in response to the new threats and aggressions by the United States against the Venezuelan people and the Caribbean. Masoud said he hopes to consolidate cooperation ties with Venezuela by 2026.”

Similarly, Algeria’s representative to the Security Council, Amar Bendjama, said: “Algeria is closely following the latest developments in the Caribbean region and we are also following them with great concern, particularly with regard to actions against Venezuelan oil tankers.”

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.