Maduro regime orders naval escorts for tankers in clear defiance of Trump's oil blockade
The U.S. president announced Tuesday night that he would impose an interdiction measure against oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela if they are subject to sanctions
Nicolas Maduro
The dictatorial regime of Venezuela ordered its navy to escort ships carrying oil derivatives a few hours after President Donald Trump announced that his administration would impose a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers operating with the South American country. According to a report by The New York Times, citing maritime tracking data and sources familiar with the situation.
According to the media outlet, several vessels set sail between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from the Port of Jose, one of the country's main export terminals. The naval deployment came just hours after Trump's announcement and was confirmed through maritime tracking data and testimony from people familiar with the situation.
Cargoes bound for Asian markets.
The escorted vessels were carrying products derived from oil, including urea and petroleum coke, bound for Asian markets, according to sources cited by The New York Times.
Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told the newspaper that the Venezuelan regime ordered the military escort as a direct response to Trump's orders. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The report noted that it was unclear whether the vessels were part of the list of ships sanctioned by the United States. That point is key, as the measure announced by Trump specifically targets tankers that have violated U.S. trade sanctions.
U.S. monitoring the situation
Trump announced Tuesday night that he would impose a total blockade on oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela if they are subject to U.S. sanctions. According to data cited by The New York Times, about 40% of tankers that have transported Venezuelan crude in recent years have been sanctioned by the United States.
Risk of oil storage saturation
A report cited by Reuters says that Venezuela could be forced to start closing some oil wells in the short term due to the lack of capacity to store crude oil and derivatives. The situation has reportedly worsened following the seizure of an oil tanker last week and U.S. plans to block other sanctioned vessels, which would be limiting the outflow of cargoes. According to people familiar with the matter, the main oil depots and tankers anchored at Venezuelan terminals are filling rapidly and could reach their maximum capacity in approximately ten days.
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