The U.S. military seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, reported Bloomberg News on Wednesday. The report called the move “a serious escalation” amid President Donald Trump’s saber-rattling to remove Nicolas Maduro from power.
Bloomberg added that “seizure may make it much harder for Venezuela to export its oil, as other shippers are now likely to be more reluctant to load its cargoes. Most Venezuelan oil goes to China, usually through intermediaries, at steep discounts owing to sanctions risk.”
The move comes as Trump and his administration continue to bomb alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea, which have so far killed over 80 people and created a growing scandal around the killing of survivors, which critics denounce as a war crime. In recent days, Trump has raised the prospect of land strikes and even troops on the ground as part of his campaign to end “narco terrorism” in the region.