The US military has seized another oil tanker with links to Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, marking the seventh such apprehension since the start of Donald Trump's campaign to control the country's oil flows.
The US Southern Command, which oversees nearly a dozen warships and thousands of troops in the region, said it intercepted the Motor Vessel Sagitta without incident. The command stated that the seizure demonstrated its resolve to ensure that only oil coordinated properly and lawfully leaves Venezuela.
Trump's foreign policy in Latin America has focused on Venezuela, initially aiming to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power. After failing to find a diplomatic solution, the US president ordered a raid on 3 January to capture Maduro and his wife, bringing them to New York to face criminal charges.
Trump has announced plans to control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely as part of a $100bn plan to rebuild the country's dilapidated oil industry, a move that has raised eyebrows among environmentalists and US oil companies.
The vessels previously seized were either under US sanctions or part of a shadow fleet disguising origins to move oil from sanctioned producers such as Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.
