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The United States "apprehended" an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas deemed a "theft and kidnapping", in the latest salvo of a pressure campaign by Washington, the US government said.
It was the second time in two weeks that US forces have interdicted a tanker in the region, and comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" heading to and leaving Venezuela.
"In a pre-dawn action early this morning on December 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela," US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.
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The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video of aerial footage that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea.
Caracas slammed the seizure as theft and kidnapping, saying "those responsible for these serious events will answer to justice and to history for their criminal conduct".
A post from Homeland Security identified the vessel as the Centuries and said it was "suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions".
Centuries is a Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged oil tanker, according to TankerTrackers, an online service monitoring oil shipments and storage.
It said that Centuries loaded 1.8 million barrels of crude oil at a Venezuelan port earlier this month before being escorted out of Venezuela's exclusive economic zone on December 18. The VesselFinder database also listed the ship's last recorded location as off the Venezuelan coast.
An AFP review found that Centuries does not appear on the US Treasury Department's list of sanctioned companies and individuals.
White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a post on X the tanker "contained sanctioned PDVSA oil", in reference to Venezuela's state oil company, and charged the ship as being "a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet".
'Waging a battle against lies'
On December 10, US forces seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which the attorney general said was involved in carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.
The United States has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combatting Latin American drug trafficking, but taking particular aim at Venezuela.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez voiced defiance in comments at a public event in Caracas broadcast Saturday on state TV – although he made no mention of the interdicted ship.
"We are waging a battle against lies, manipulation, interference, military threats, and psychological warfare," the defense minister said, adding "that will not intimidate us."
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil also said Iran, one of Caracas's largest international allies, was offering support "in all areas" to combat "piracy and international terrorism" by the United States.
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There are currently 11 US warships in the Caribbean: the world's largest aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, two amphibious transport dock ships, two cruisers and five destroyers.
Caracas views the operation as a campaign to push out leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro – whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president -- and to "steal" Venezuelan oil.
The US military has also conducted a series of air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.
The ship interception occurred as South American leaders gathered for a summit of the Mercosur bloc, where tensions over suspended member Venezuela overshadowed discussions of a future trade deal with the European Union.
At the gathering, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clashed with his Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei, arguing that an outbreak armed conflict over Venezuela could cause a "humanitarian catastrophe."
Milei, a Trump ally, countered by saying Argentina "welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)