Two sources with knowledge of the case indicated that the ship escolat measure was ordered after the announcement by the US president. PDVSA affirmed that operations continue with “full guarantees”
The Venezuelan Navy escorted several ships transporting oil byproducts from the country’s eastern coast between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, a few hours after United States President Donald Trump threatened to impose a “total and complete blockade” on sanctioned tankers operating with Venezuela. The information comes from maritime tracking data and testimonies from people familiar with the matter and cited by the North American newspaper. The New York Times.
According to two of these sources, the ships left the port of José with shipments of urea, petroleum coke and other derivatives, destined for Asian markets. According to these versions, the military escort was a direct response from the Nicolás Maduro administration to the threats made by Trump.
A third source, A US official confirmed that Washington was aware of the escorted movements and was evaluating different courses of action.n, although he declined to offer details. It was not immediately clear whether the vessels were included in the list of vessels sanctioned by the United States and, therefore, subject to the eventual announced blockade.
PDVSA said in a statement announced on Wednesday that the vessels linked to its operations continued sailing “with full security, technical support and operational guarantees, in the legitimate exercise of their right to free navigation.”
Trump announced Tuesday night that would impose a “total and complete lockdown” to sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. According to Samir Madani, co-founder of the specialized site TankerTrackers.com, around 40% of the tankers that have transported Venezuelan crude in recent years have been subject to United States sanctions.
Tension increased last week when US authorities seized a sanctioned tanker headed to Asia with almost two million barrels of Venezuelan crude, a step that represented a significant escalation in the dispute between Washington and the administration of Nicolás Maduro, whose income depends largely on oil exports.
U.S. officials have privately indicated in recent days that other tankers carrying Venezuelan oil could be seized, without providing further details. According to one of the sources cited, Maduro reacted with annoyance to the seizure and assured that he would maintain the flow of exports “at all costs.”
*Read also: Ghost and sanctioned ships: pillars of Maduro’s oil business in check by Trump
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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