Three U.S. officials confirmed on Saturday that the United States has seized a vessel in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. This move comes just days after U.S. president Donald Trump announced an "interdiction" against all oil tankers sanctioned by Venezuela. The United States seizes a vessel near Venezuela for the second time within the last few weeks. This comes in the midst of a massive U.S. Military buildup in the area.

Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity did not specify where the operation took place, but said that the Coast Guard was leading the way. The Coast Guard, Pentagon and other agencies referred all questions to the White House. However, it did not respond immediately to a comment request. Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA and the oil ministry did not respond to comments immediately.

Trump announced on Tuesday that he was ordering a TOTAL and?COMPLETE BLOCKING of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. Since U.S. forces captured a sanctioned tanker off the coast of Venezuela last Thursday, an effective embargo has been in place. Loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of crude oil have stayed in Venezuelan waters rather than risk being seized.

Venezuelan crude oil exports have dropped sharply since the first seizure.

While some vessels transporting Venezuelan crude oil from Iran or Russia are sanctioned by the United States, other ships transporting oil and crude oil from the country have not. Some companies, such as Chevron in the U.S., also transport Venezuelan oil on their own authorized ships.

Analysts have stated that China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude. This accounts for approximately 4% of China's imports. In December, analysts expect shipments to average over 600,000 barrels a day.

Currently, there is a good supply of oil and millions of barrels are sitting on tankers waiting to be unloaded off the coast of China. If the embargo remains in place, it is likely that oil prices will rise if nearly a half million barrels of crude are lost every day.

Since the U.S. placed energy sanctions against Venezuela in 2019, traders, refiners and others buying Venezuelan crude oil have turned to "shadow fleets" of tankers that conceal their location or vessels sanctioned to transport Iranian or Russian oil.

Trump's?pressure campaign?on Maduro included a stepped-up military presence and over two dozen military attacks on vessels near Venezuela in the Pacific Ocean or Caribbean Sea. At least 100 people have been killed.

Trump also stated that the United States will begin land attacks on South America soon.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claims that the U.S. military's buildup is aimed to overthrow him and gain control of Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world. Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Alison Williams and Sergio Non

(source: Reuters)