The US Coast Guard on Saturday detained another Venezuelan tanker, making good on President Donald Trump's pledge to stop most shipments of Venezuelan crude.
US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees the Coast Guard, announced the seizure via a social media post, without releasing the name of the tanker. "The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region", Noem wrote.
The US Coast Guard on 10 December seized a Venezuelan tanker with a cargo of crude destined for Cuba.
Trump on 16 December declared a blockade of Venezuelan tankers previously placed on the US sanctions list and demanded that Venezuela "return to the US all of the oil, land and other assets that they previously stole from us".
The tanker seized on 10 December was on the US sanctions list.
Caracas has reacted by ordering Venezuelan naval vessels to escort tankers in the country's territorial waters. The US naval vessels have kept to international waters off Venezuela's coast.
Little crude tanker traffic has moved out of Venezuela's main ports since the 10 December seizure of the Venezuelan tanker, with the exception of cargoes chartered by Chevron and a few other foreign oil majors working with state-owned oil firm PdV, industry and government sources say.
