U.S. Coast Guard chasing third tanker tied to Venezuela, official says

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker accused of helping Venezuela evade U.S. sanctions, as pressure mounts on vessels tied to its shadow fleet.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the Venezuelan government.

The pursuit of the tanker, which was confirmed by a U.S. official briefed on the operation, comes after the U.S. administration announced Saturday it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday’s pursuit involved “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”

The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and was under a judicial seizure order.

The Coast Guard’s pursuit of the tanker was first reported by Reuters.

Saturday’s predawn seizure of a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries targeted what the White House described as a “falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil.”

The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of a shadow fleet of tankers that the U.S. says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. It was not even flying a nation’s flag when it was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. President Donald Trump, after that first seizure, vowed that the U.S. would carry out a “blockade” of Venezuela. It all comes as Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric toward President Nicolas Maduro and warned that the longtime Venezuelan leader’s days in power are numbered.