The United States seized a tanker with Venezuelan oil. What the media is writing

The US military seized a tanker carrying oil from Venezuela. US President Donald Trump said it was the largest of the captured vessels. The tanker is under US sanctions. The detention of the ship has become a new twist in the ongoing conflict between the United States and Venezuela, which Trump accuses of supplying drugs to the United States. How the world's media react to the incident is in the Izvestia digest.

The Washington Post: Trump announced the seizure of an oil tanker from Venezuela

US President Donald Trump has said that US troops have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. This was a significant escalation of the pressure campaign against President Nicolas Maduro and his country's oil-based economy. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI and the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Service executed an arrest warrant for a crude oil tanker used in the past to transport oil from Venezuela and Iran in violation of sanctions.

Trump did not provide additional details about the seizure, the tanker and its route. He suggested that the United States would keep the oil. A source familiar with the circumstances of the seizure said that the tanker was apparently transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba. An unnamed official stated that the vessel is called Skipper. In 2022, it was sanctioned under the earlier name of Adisa, when it flew the Panamanian flag.

The New York Times: Hijacked tanker faked location data

Analysis of satellite images and photographs has shown that an oil tanker seized by the United States off the coast of Venezuela may have tried to hide its location by broadcasting falsified data. Although the ship's transponder indicated that it was anchored in the Atlantic Ocean near Guyana and Suriname, from the end of October to at least December 4, the ship was near Venezuela.

In the image, the vessel is low in the water, which indicates that it has weighed down after it has taken on a significant cargo — about 1.8 or 1.9 million barrels of oil. The data shows that the tanker often transported oil from countries under US sanctions. The ship's tracking data shows numerous voyages to Iran and Venezuela over the past two years.

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Reuters: more than 30 vessels were under threat after the seizure of an American tanker

More than 30 oil vessels under U.S. sanctions operating in Venezuela are at risk of falling under similar measures from Washington after the Coast Guard seized a supertanker carrying Venezuelan oil for export. The seizure of the tanker was the first time oil cargo had been seized from Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019, and the first known action by the Trump administration against a tanker linked to Venezuela since he ordered a massive military buildup in the region.

According to the data TankerTrackers.com More than 80 vessels loaded or waiting to load oil were in Venezuelan waters or near its coast, including more than 30 that were under US sanctions. In total, the global shadow fleet includes 1,423 tankers, of which 921 are under US, UK or European sanctions. As a rule, these are old ships, information about their owners is opaque, and they sail without high-quality insurance coverage that meets international standards for large oil companies and many ports.

The Guardian: Venezuela condemns "act of piracy" after tanker hijacking

In a statement, the Venezuelan government said the seizure of the tanker "constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy." She noted that the incident "revealed the true causes of the protracted aggression against Venezuela." The country has the world's largest proven oil reserves, and its exports remain the main source of income.

Juan Gonzalez, the former chief adviser to the previous US President Joe Biden on Latin America, said that he had previously insisted on the deployment of two US destroyers off the coast of Venezuela and the introduction of an oil blockade. According to him, this will paralyze the Venezuelan economy, which will eventually lead to Maduro's departure from the post of head of state.

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Politico: Trump threatened the president of Colombia

Trump has stepped up his threats against Colombia, telling reporters that the country's president, Gustavo Petro, is "next" in the White House's regional campaign against drug trafficking. Earlier this week, the US president suggested expanding his military operation to combat drug trafficking, which has so far focused on Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia.

Although Trump has made it clear that he wants Petro's resignation, he can get his way without following through on his threats. The Colombian leader's term of office is about to expire, and presidential elections will be held in the country in May.