Coast Guard Pursuing Another Tanker    12/22 06:13

   

   WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing 
another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration 
appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the 
Venezuelan government.

   The pursuit of the tanker, which was confirmed by a U.S. official briefed on 
the operation, comes after the U.S. administration announced Saturday it had 
seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.

   The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing 
operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday's pursuit 
involved "a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal 
sanctions evasion."

   The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial 
seizure order.

   The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. 
Coast Guard, deferred questions about the operation to the White House, which 
did not offer comment on the operation.

   Saturday's predawn seizure of a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries 
targeted what the White House described as a "falsely flagged vessel operating 
as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil."

   The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker 
called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the 
U.S. says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. It was 
not even flying a nation's flag when it was seized by the Coast Guard.

   President Donald Trump, after that first seizure, said that the U.S. would 
carry out a "blockade" of Venezuela. It all comes as Trump has ratcheted up his 
rhetoric toward Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro.

   This past week Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized 
from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a 
"blockade" against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country 
that face American sanctions.

   Trump cited the lost U.S. investments in Venezuela when asked about his 
newest tactic in a pressure campaign against Maduro, suggesting the Republican 
administration's moves are at least somewhat motivated by disputes over oil 
investments, along with accusations of drug trafficking. Some sanctioned 
tankers already are diverting away from Venezuela.

   U.S. oil companies dominated Venezuela's petroleum industry until the 
country's leaders moved to nationalize the sector, first in the 1970s and again 
in the 21st century under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chvez. Compensation 
offered by Venezuela was deemed insufficient, and in 2014, an international 
arbitration panel ordered the country's socialist government to pay $1.6 
billion to ExxonMobil.

   Maduro said in a message Sunday on Telegram that Venezuela has spent months 
"denouncing, challenging and defeating a campaign of aggression that goes from 
psychological terrorism to corsairs attacking oil tankers."

   He added: "We are ready to accelerate the pace of our deep revolution!"

   Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been critical of Trump's Venezuela policy, 
called the tanker seizures a "provocation and a prelude to war."

   "Look, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world 
that we don't like that are either socialist or communist or have human rights 
violations," Paul said on ABC's' "This Week." "But it isn't the job of the 
American soldier to be the policeman of the world."

   The targeting of tankers comes as Trump has ordered the Defense Department 
to carry out a series of attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern 
Pacific Ocean that his administration alleges are smuggling fentanyl and other 
illegal drugs into the United States and beyond.

   At least 104 people have been killed in 28 known strikes since early 
September. The strikes have faced scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and human rights 
activists, who say the administration has offered scant evidence that its 
targets are indeed drug smugglers and that the fatal strikes amount to 
extrajudicial killings.

   Trump has repeatedly said Maduro's days in power are numbered. White House 
chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair published last 
week that Trump "wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle."

   Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Trump's 
use of military to mount pressure on Maduro runs contrary to Trump's pledge to 
keep the United States out of unnecessary wars.

   Democrats have been pressing Trump to seek congressional authorization for 
the military action in the Caribbean.

   "We should be using sanctions and other tools at our disposal to punish this 
dictator who is violating the human rights of his civilians and has run the 
Venezuelan economy into the ground," Kaine said. "But I'll tell you, we should 
not be waging war against Venezuela. We definitely should not be waging war 
without a vote of Congress.