Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro strongly condemned the US action against the oil tanker, calling it an act of “maritime piracy”. While the White House says the vessel carried sanctioned oil and financed narco-terrorism, Maduro talks about the kidnapping of the crew and the theft of state property.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday condemned the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker by the US. He called the move an act of “sea piracy”. TASR informs about it based on the AFP report.
- Maduro described the seizure of the tanker by the United States as maritime piracy.
- The US says the tanker was carrying oil from Venezuela and Iran.
- The US accused Maduro of supporting drug trafficking.
Madurej accuses the US of piracy
“They kidnapped the crew, stole the ship and opened a new era, an era of criminal maritime piracy in the Caribbean,” Maduro said at the event. “Venezuela will secure all ships to guarantee free oil trade in the world,” he emphasized.
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States had seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. US Attorney General Pam Bondi subsequently stated on the X Network that this tanker was carrying oil from Venezuela and Iran.
According to the US, Maduro is covering people smuggling drugs into the US
US forces descended on the vessel from a helicopter in an operation that US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at the “regime” of leftist Venezuelan President Maduro. According to her, he covers people smuggling drugs into the US.
On Thursday, the White House announced that the tanker would be transferred to a port in the United States. “We will not stand by as sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which support narco-terrorism by rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
