Overview
- The Coast Guard led a helicopter boarding with FBI, Homeland Security and military support to take the VLCC Skipper, a previously sanctioned vessel tied to an illicit network moving Iranian and Venezuelan crude.
- Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the ship will sail to a U.S. port, officials are interviewing the crew and gathering evidence, and the government intends to keep the oil after legal proceedings.
- Treasury announced new sanctions on six shipping companies and six vessels linked to deceptive practices that finance Maduro’s government, and the White House would not rule out further seizures.
- Venezuela denounced the seizure as “international piracy,” the U.N. urged restraint, and Russia and Cuba backed Caracas, while some U.S. lawmakers questioned the operation’s legality.
- Maritime trackers reported the Skipper loaded about 1.8 million barrels at José and transferred roughly 200,000 near Curaçao en route to Cuba, as the move followed months of lethal strikes on suspected drug boats.