Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Saturday evening hailed the seizure by the U.S. Coast Guard of a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
The U.S. Navy assisted in the seizure, which took place on international waters, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced.
Hegseth made clear that the Trump administration intended to put the squeeze on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime with its actions.
“President Trump has been clear: the blockade of sanctioned oil tankers departing from, or bound for, Venezuela will remain in full force until Maduro’s criminal enterprise returns every stolen American asset,” Hegseth.
“The @DeptofWar, with our partners at @USCG, will unflinchingly conduct maritime interdiction operations — through OPERATION SOUTHERN SPEAR — to dismantle illicit criminal networks. Violence, drugs, and chaos will not control the Western Hemisphere.”
Trump earlier this week announced a blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers sailing in and out of Venezuela. The ship seized on Saturday had been docked in Venezuela.
Earlier this month, the Coast Guard seized a massive oil tanker, called “Skipper,” near the coast of Venezuela. The ship was carrying about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil and was falsely flying Guyana’s flag when the seizure took place.
The Trump administration has been targeting the Maduro regime in seizing the oil tankers, curbing the regime’s ability to import food and buy weapons.
The U.S. military also has been targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September in another effort to go after Venezuela. The attacks on the boats has courted controversy involving Hegseth, particularly after lawmakers saw reports of a second strike in one September attack that killed two suvivors of a previous strike.
The U.S. also has established a massive military presence in the U.S. Southern Command area, dispatching warships, fighter jets, Marines and spy planes to the region.
