Venezuela denounced what it called an “act of international piracy” after what it describes as the “brazen robbery” of an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, attributed directly to the United States. The Venezuelan government also highlights that the action was “publicly announced” by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, further increasing tensions between the two nations.
The text, sent via Telegram by the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil Pinto, states that this is not an isolated episode. The government says that Washington “already in its 2024 campaign openly stated that its objective was always to keep Venezuelan oil without paying any consideration”, interpreting the incident as part of a “deliberate plan to strip our energy wealth”.
Venezuela also links the episode to the litigation involving Citgo, calling it “theft through fraudulent judicial mechanisms and outside of any rules”. On another front, the statement also denounces attempts at “regime change”, with a forced departure of Nicolás Maduro, supported by Western governments.
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The US announced yesterday that it captured an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. “As you probably know, we just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said. “It’s a big oil tanker, very big. The biggest ever seized.”
