Venezuela accuses the US of "stealing" another oil tanker

Nicolas Maduro's government has accused the U.S. of stealing and hijacking "another private ship" carrying Venezuelan crude oil on Saturday, the second oil tanker seized by the U.S. in less than two weeks in the Caribbean Sea.

In a statement, the Chavista Government has described the incident as an act of "piracy" and has also denounced the "forced disappearance" of the crew.

The South American country has warned that "these actions will not go unpunished" and that "we will take all appropriate action, including reporting to the United Nations Security Council, other institutions and world governments".

"The colonialist model that the United States Government intends to impose with such practices will fail and be defeated," he said.

Caracas added that international law "will prevail and the perpetrators of these serious events will be held accountable to justice and history for their criminal conduct".

The US Government confirmed on Saturday that it detected an oil tanker in international waters in the Caribbean. Apparently, the ship was flying a Panamanian flag.

"In an operation carried out at dawn today, 20 December, the United States Coast Guard, with the help of the War Department, intercepted an oil tanker that had just docked in Venezuela," Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on the X social network.

According to Noem, the US "will continue to pursue the illegal oil movement, which is used to finance drug terrorism in the region."

This is the second ship seized by the Donald Trump administration in the Caribbean after the Skipper and crude oil were confiscated last week.

Last Wednesday, Venezuela requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the situation in the South American country on Tuesday 23.