WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States has stepped up its oil blockade of Venezuela by intercepting a third tanker in international waters near the country in less than two weeks, said media reports on Sunday.
The tanker Bella 1, which flies the Panamanian flag and is under U.S. sanctions, was boarded by U.S. personnel while en route to Venezuela to load cargo, Bloomberg News reported Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
One day earlier, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the Centuries off Venezuela, a Panamanian-flagged supertanker that is not on Washington's sanctions list. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on X that the crude oil aboard the Centuries originated from Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), which is under U.S. sanctions.
On Dec. 10, U.S. forces seized the tanker Skipper near Venezuelan waters and announced the U.S. plans to keep its oil cargo.
On Dec. 16, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, announcing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government had been designated as a "foreign terrorist organization."
According to oil-shipping monitor TankerTrackers.com, dozens of tankers on the U.S. sanctions list are currently remaining in Venezuelan waters. Oil exports are widely seen as the backbone of Venezuela's economy, accounting for the vast majority of its foreign revenue.
Venezuela has accused Washington of seeking regime change and military expansion in Latin America, condemning the interception of oil tankers as "piracy." ■
