Tensions between Washington and Caracas surged dramatically after the United States seized a second oil tanker near Venezuela, prompting furious accusations of “international piracy” and raising fears that the long-simmering standoff is sliding toward a full-scale crisis. On December 20, US Coast Guard forces, backed by the US military, boarded and seized an oil tanker in international waters off Venezuela’s coast. The move followed a similar seizure on December 10 and comes just days after President Donald Trump ordered what he called a ‘total and complete blockade’ of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
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