The US Coast Guard is seizing a sanctioned ship off the Venezuelan coast, two US officials confirmed to NBC News.
The process is ongoing. This was first reported by Reuters.
The two officials said the Coast Guard was taking the lead. One of the officials said that the US military is supported by helicopters that land Coast Guard personnel and monitor the airspace.
This comes after the United States intercepted a large sanctioned oil tanker known as Skipper off the coast of Venezuela last week. The ship, previously identified by the Treasury Department as Adisa, is an oil tanker linked to a sanctions-evading smuggling network that US officials say transports Iranian oil to generate revenue for Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the operation as a success, “ensuring that we confront a system that systematically covers and floods our country with deadly drugs and is killing our next generation of Americans.”
After that operation, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on six other ships believed to be carrying Venezuelan oil.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of war with Venezuela.
On Tuesday, Trump ordered a “blockade” of oil tankers arriving and departing from sanctioned Venezuela, increasing pressure on the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
The administration’s campaign has already resulted in 28 known boat strikes that killed more than 100 people, including a “double tap” strike that faced congressional scrutiny.
This is it Developing story. Please check back for updates.
