White House orders US forces to focus on 'quarantine' of Venezuelan oil, official says
The US has intercepted two oil tankers this month and is pursuing a third. (Reuters/DHS)
In short:
The White House has ordered US military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing the "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil, a US official says.
The statement could dampen the immediate prospect of US land strikes against Venezuela that Donald Trump has repeatedly said may take place.
United Nations experts have condemned US aggression against Venezuela, saying the partial maritime blockade is an "illegal use of force".
The White House has ordered US military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing the "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, a US official has told the Reuters news agency.
"While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking [for]," the official said on Wednesday, local time.
The statement could dampen the immediate prospect of US land strikes against Venezuela that President Donald Trump has repeatedly said may take place.
"The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The belief is that by late January Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the US."
It comes as the US Coast Guard waits for additional forces to arrive before potentially attempting to board and seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker it has been pursuing since Sunday, a US official and a source familiar with the matter says.
Nicolás Maduro has called on the international community to oppose what he says is a US attempt to spark regime change. (Reuters: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
The ship, which maritime groups have identified as the Bella 1, has refused to be boarded by the Coast Guard.
That means that the task will likely fall to one of just two teams of specialists — known as Maritime Security Response Teams — who can board vessels under these circumstances, including by rappelling from helicopters.
The days-long pursuit highlights the mismatch between the Trump administration's desire to seize sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela and the limited resources of the agency that is mainly carrying out operations, the Coast Guard.
Unlike the US Navy, the Coast Guard can carry out law enforcement actions, including boarding and seizing vessels that are under US sanctions.
Mr Trump earlier this month ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Mr Maduro.
The Coast Guard has in recent weeks seized two oil tankers near Venezuela. After the first seizure, on December 10, US Attorney-General Pam Bondi posted a video showing two helicopters approaching a vessel and armed personnel in camouflage rappelling onto it.
A Saturday social media post by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, showed what appeared to be Coast Guard officers aboard the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier getting ready to depart and seize the Centuries tanker, the second of the ships boarded by the US.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Coast Guard officials on the Ford were from a Maritime Security Response Team and at the time too far from Bella 1 to carry out a boarding operation.
"There are limited teams who are trained for these types of boardings," said Corey Ranslem, chief executive of maritime security group Dryad Global and previously with the US Coast Guard.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House said that the United States was still in "active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion".
United Nations experts condemn US blockade, aggression against Venezuela
Four United Nations human rights experts have condemned US aggression against Venezuela, saying the partial maritime blockade is an "illegal use of force".
"There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade," the experts said in a joint statement on Wednesday, local time.
The UN Security Council met to discuss "ongoing US aggression" against Venezuela at the UN's New York City headquarters on Tuesday, local time. (Reuters: Eduardo Munoz)
"It is such a serious use of force that it is also expressly recognised as illegal armed aggression under the General Assembly's 1974 Definition of Aggression.
"The illegal use of force, and threats to use further force at sea and on land, gravely endanger the human right to life and other rights in Venezuela and the region."
Since September, the US has carried out 26 known strikes on boats accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 99 people.
The UN experts said the deaths were "arbitrary" and must be investigated.
"Meanwhile, the US Congress should intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade," they said.
Washington has accused Mr Maduro of leading the alleged "Cartel of the Suns", which it declared a terrorist organisation last month.
He and his government have vehemently denied this claim.
Mr Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the US military operations is to force him from office and seize the country's oil reserves.
Reuters/ABC