6 ms·

US seizes oil tanker off coast of Venezuela

86 points by geox 11mo ago

stevenalowe 11mo ago
Under what authority???
- k310 11mo ago
  The Epstein Distraction Act.
- jajuuka 11mo ago
  Under Operation Freedom. We're gonna make sure every drop of oil is liberated from Venezuela.
- JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
  > Under what authority??? Under U.S. law, if they're smart, anti-piracy and anti-narcotics interdiction. They're not, so they're citing sanctions. Practically, however, this is sort of the endgame to the spheres-of-influence narrative. China can ram Phillipine fishing boats. Russia can steal children. America can commandeer random shit in the Western hemisphere.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
- crest 11mo ago
  Non but superior firepower the US is reverting to might makes right for all to see. I can't wait for the response to "China seizes container ship leaving Taiwan loaded with illicit semiconductors to enforce its tariffs and export restrictions on trade with the 'rebelious province' by force".
  - seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
    The problem with that is that those ships leave from Taiwan’s east coast and the ryukyus with american military resources are in the way of China getting to the east coast of Taiwan (which is really another reason they want Taiwan along with developing some bases in the South China Sea, they are basically hemmed in with the current political arrangement).
- seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
  [flagged]
- monerozcash 11mo ago
  So, despite all the stupid trolling there's an actual answer to this question. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea authorizes any state to interdict stateless vessels, which this was.
  - stevenalowe 11mo ago
    I can find no such claim in the news, the articles all say “Venezuelan oil tanker”
    - monerozcash 11mo ago
      Poor quality articles. Here's an actual industry source which captures the whole story in the headline https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1155836/Weve-just-seized-a-tanker-US-forces-take-over-sanctioned-stateless-VLCC-off-Venezuela https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1155836/Weve-just-seized-a-tank...
      - stevenalowe 11mo ago
        I stand corrected, thank you. I still don’t approve of it, but it does appear to be “legal”
        monerozcash 11mo ago
        It's generally considered best practice to detain these vessels as they tend to present a danger to ... well, basically everyone. It's really a good thing the US did this, one less dangerous stateless vessel at sea. Trump admin does lots of bad things, this is beyond reproach.
notrealyme123 11mo ago
[flagged]
cherryteastain 11mo ago
Imagine the outrage if the title were instead "China seizes Philippine oil tanker in South China Sea"
- monerozcash 11mo ago
  How is that comparable? That seems like a deliberate misrepresentation of the situation. US actions here almost certainly have the full backing of what they (probably rightfully) consider to be the legitimate Venezuelan government.
  - antifa 11mo ago
    > probably rightfully Surely we're all old enough to know that's an obvious lie. The US government probably doesn't know or care if Maduro is a dictator, they're just here for the oil.
    - monerozcash 11mo ago
      US would get the oil regardless of who they back, there's nobody else with the technical capabilities to extract at scale in Venezuela. This is a completely ridiculous argument.
      - antifa 11mo ago
        No it's not, the current regime is very open about how excited they are about getting that oil and very hand wavy about everything else. It would be ridiculous to argue that the current regime has any genuine concerns or interest about democracy, drug trafficking (even just pardoned one), or the legitimacy of Venezuela's government.
        monerozcash 11mo ago
        > the current regime is very open about how excited they are about getting that oil and very hand wavy about everything else Yes, because it makes sense to trust what the Trump admin tells you. Oil might be one of the many excuses they give, but it's obviously a lie because there is nobody else in the world capable of profitably extracting Venezuelan crude at any meaningful scale.
ArcHound 11mo ago
Hello, I am from overseas. Can someone please explain to me why would they do that? What is the goal, what is the plan, what is the intent? Thanks for any comments, I am utterly confused.
- genter 11mo ago
  Don't worry, a significant portion of us in the US are also utterly confused in regards to whats going on with the federal government.
  - ArcHound 11mo ago
    Thanks. I just saw at BBC that it was "for a very good reason". I just thought that I'm missing some context. I guess all that's left to say is to wish you a great day.
    - antifa 11mo ago
      That very good reason's name? Manufacturing Consent. Iraq WMDs 2.0 brought to you by Mr No New Wars.
- drannex 11mo ago
  Oil. It's always oil.
- SilverElfin 11mo ago
  I suspect they want to gain access to Venezuelan oil reserves to make energy cheaper, reduce prices, and win elections. Or grift off it for personal wealth. Or both.
- sundbry 11mo ago
  I suspect it's loaded with drugs rerouted from the speedboats that have been getting BTFO.
  - dpkirchner 11mo ago
SilverElfin 11mo ago
Imagine saying vile things about Somalians for weeks and then turning into an actual Somalian pirate (EDIT: a small fraction of Somalians). What a farce.
- moomoo11 11mo ago
  [flagged]
  - grafmax 11mo ago
    Venezuela participates in a small portion of the illegal drug trade. US government officials have stated that they want Venezuela’s oil reserves. This is a transparent excuse for an oil grab.
    - moomoo11 11mo ago
      So? And what about my point that fishermen don't move at 100 knots in speedboats filled with plastic wrapped packages they start dumping as soon as they're spotted? How does Venezuela have so much oil and yet their population suffers tremendously? Let me guess that is also somehow the fault of USA/capitalism/colonialism?
      - dpkirchner 11mo ago
        You seem to have more proof of their alleged crimes than the government has offered anyone else, where did you get it?
        deleted 11mo ago
        [deleted]
      - Kim_Bruning 11mo ago
        I haven't seen a source on plastic wrapped packages. Can you point to where that might be?
  - 11mo ago
spjt 11mo ago
Interesting that I read elsewhere that most Venezuelan oil goes to China due to the sanctions. Would be nice to see them put a carrier group down there to guard their shipments...
- neom 11mo ago
  Deescalation would be preferable to escalation no? Personally I'd prefer this cold war we're living through not kick off into global hot war.
- TitaRusell 11mo ago
  Whoever replaces Maduro will still be corrupt. Americans think they are fighting the good fight but it will turn out like Iraq: the spice will flow and the Chinese know it. Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake.
  - sylos 11mo ago
    Americans don't think this is any kind of good fight.
- JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
  > Would be nice to see them put a carrier group down there to guard their shipments... This would be a 4D chess move right off the edge of the game board and into a latrine. China doesn't want to get involved in an oil war. It doesn't want to send its limited blue-water capabilities into America's backyard to get painted. It doesn't want to deal with oil supply chains against America's nuclear-powered fleet. And it doesn't want to risk Trump popping an aneurysm and disabling their ships, an attack to which all retaliation options carry material risks of nuclear escalation (in a way bombing boats on the other side of the world does not), and which would mean trashing China's and the global economy as the trade war turns blockade.
  - monerozcash 11mo ago
    China also doesn't have the capabilities to extract the super heavy and poor quality Venezuelan crude, only the US has those capabilities. Essentially all of the existing infrastructure in Venezuela was built by Americans, and is crumbling. While Venezuela has tremendous amounts of oil, most of it is not very easy to extract profitably.
jjkaczor 11mo ago
Give the Mr. "New New Wars" another "peace prize"...
basisword 11mo ago
Can someone explain why US sanctions on Iranian oil would have any relevance to Venezuela? And why the US would have any right to enforce those sanctions by seizing some other countries tanker? Or is this the US just doing what it wants because nobody will tell it otherwise?
- seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
  Oh, I think I know this one. Venezuela crude is really heavy and dirty, but a lot of refineries, including ones in Texas and I imagine Iran, are designed to mix it with some lighter crude to derive a decent gasoline yield. These refineries only work like this however, and have basically become dependent on dirty crude sources like Venezuela. The USA I think is dealing via Alberta tar sands, but maybe they decided to just steal the oil from Venezuela directly (Trump is unhinged like that).
- crest 11mo ago
  This is the US navy resorting to gunboat diplomacy.
- JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
  > Can someone explain why US sanctions on Iranian oil would have any relevance to Venezuela? "Brokers in Singapore told The Wall Street Journal that a tanker called the Skipper was the vessel seized off Venezuela early Wednesday. The tanker, formerly called the Adisa, had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for carrying Iranian crude" [1]. [1] https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-in-escalation-of-pressure-on-maduro-regime-ec2cd0b6?mod=hp_lead_pos3 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off...
- cocoricamo 11mo ago
  There are shadow fleets of tankers trafficking oil across the world. Venezuelan oil is sanctioned as well as Iranian so no company without licenses and correct paperwork would touch it unless you move it enough to hide the origin. In the end they all know where it comes from but like the plausible deniability. Most Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour and needs to be mixed with lighter oil to be refined and they need access to restricted chemicals for the process. As it was explained to me a few months ago Iran provides lighter oil, solvents and materials for the refining and they take the heavier oil to sell it in the black market. Sanctions aside the tanker was there for the taking by any government. Spoofing location and flying a false flag are enough to justify boarding and seizure by any country since it's a stateless ship likely involved in illegal activities. In short yes, USA does it because it can and there's legal justification for it beyond "Trump oil, Trump bad lel", but as usual HN devolves to a potato when world events touch USA politics.
JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
"The move came just hours after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado left the country on a boat, an escape that potentially gave the Trump administration an opening to take more aggressive action against the Maduro regime" [1]. [1] https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-in-escalation-of-pressure-on-maduro-regime-ec2cd0b6?mod=hp_lead_pos3 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off...
- zzleeper 11mo ago
  Hope they don't confuse her boat and blow her up :/
  - tim333 11mo ago
    She made it to Oslo and is celebrating her peace prize by calling for an invasion https://news.sky.com/story/venezuela-has-already-been-invaded-says-nobel-peace-prize-winner-machado-when-asked-about-trump-intervention-13482086 https://news.sky.com/story/venezuela-has-already-been-invade...
monerozcash 11mo ago
>a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually -DJT Spoiler alert: It wasn't Trump tanker DWT: 310309 Sirius Star DWT: 318000
- m463 11mo ago
  hmmm... "seized" :) Sirius Star ... on 15 November 2008, becoming the largest ship ever captured by pirates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sirius_Star https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sirius_Star
  - monerozcash 11mo ago
    I'm too lazy to edit the wikipedia page to say "seized" instead of captured, so let's just pretend I did that.
leopoldj 11mo ago
This ship is a known blockade runner. "The ship has frequently carried oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, and its tracking data shows multiple recent trips to Iran and Venezuela" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-venezuela-tracking-data.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-ve...
- Aloisius 11mo ago
  For it to be a blockade runner, there would need to be a blockade. Are we blockading Venezuela? That would generally be considered an act of war.
  - nradov 11mo ago
    Right. The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. I don't know whether this was the real reason but as of today other vessels are still sailing in and out of Venezuelan ports without interference. There is no blockade. The vessel is registered in Guyana so I guess they can complain if they think the seizure was illegitimate. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:411444 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:41...
    - dragonwriter 11mo ago
      > The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. “Sanctions” imposed by one country on another limiting its trade with third countries are (if force is used to effect them) a (limited) blockade and absolutely an act of war.
      - nradov 11mo ago
        Well then I guess Guyana can declare war on the USA if they want to.
    - perihelions 11mo ago
      Guyana says it's a false flag, > "The government of Guyana — which borders Venezuela — said in a statement Wednesday the ship was falsely flying the Guyanese flag, despite not being registered in the South American country" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski... (Context reminder: Guyana is the country Venezuela's Maduro threatened to invade in 2023). (Also context: the sanctions on this ship's Russian owner date from 2022, and are about violating US sanctions on Iranian oil).
deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]
classified 11mo ago
> In July, the Trump administration walked back a February move to cut off U.S. oil giant Chevron from doing business in Venezuela. "It's OK when it's our guy."

86 points by geox 11mo ago

stevenalowe 11mo ago

Under what authority???

k310 11mo ago
The Epstein Distraction Act.
jajuuka 11mo ago
Under Operation Freedom. We're gonna make sure every drop of oil is liberated from Venezuela.
JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
> Under what authority??? Under U.S. law, if they're smart, anti-piracy and anti-narcotics interdiction. They're not, so they're citing sanctions. Practically, however, this is sort of the endgame to the spheres-of-influence narrative. China can ram Phillipine fishing boats. Russia can steal children. America can commandeer random shit in the Western hemisphere.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
crest 11mo ago
Non but superior firepower the US is reverting to might makes right for all to see. I can't wait for the response to "China seizes container ship leaving Taiwan loaded with illicit semiconductors to enforce its tariffs and export restrictions on trade with the 'rebelious province' by force".
- seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
  The problem with that is that those ships leave from Taiwan’s east coast and the ryukyus with american military resources are in the way of China getting to the east coast of Taiwan (which is really another reason they want Taiwan along with developing some bases in the South China Sea, they are basically hemmed in with the current political arrangement).
seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
[flagged]
monerozcash 11mo ago
So, despite all the stupid trolling there's an actual answer to this question. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea authorizes any state to interdict stateless vessels, which this was.
- stevenalowe 11mo ago
  I can find no such claim in the news, the articles all say “Venezuelan oil tanker”
  - monerozcash 11mo ago
    Poor quality articles. Here's an actual industry source which captures the whole story in the headline https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1155836/Weve-just-seized-a-tanker-US-forces-take-over-sanctioned-stateless-VLCC-off-Venezuela https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1155836/Weve-just-seized-a-tank...
    - stevenalowe 11mo ago
      I stand corrected, thank you. I still don’t approve of it, but it does appear to be “legal”
      - monerozcash 11mo ago
        It's generally considered best practice to detain these vessels as they tend to present a danger to ... well, basically everyone. It's really a good thing the US did this, one less dangerous stateless vessel at sea. Trump admin does lots of bad things, this is beyond reproach.

notrealyme123 11mo ago

[flagged]

cherryteastain 11mo ago

Imagine the outrage if the title were instead "China seizes Philippine oil tanker in South China Sea"

monerozcash 11mo ago
How is that comparable? That seems like a deliberate misrepresentation of the situation. US actions here almost certainly have the full backing of what they (probably rightfully) consider to be the legitimate Venezuelan government.
- antifa 11mo ago
  > probably rightfully Surely we're all old enough to know that's an obvious lie. The US government probably doesn't know or care if Maduro is a dictator, they're just here for the oil.
  - monerozcash 11mo ago
    US would get the oil regardless of who they back, there's nobody else with the technical capabilities to extract at scale in Venezuela. This is a completely ridiculous argument.
    - antifa 11mo ago
      No it's not, the current regime is very open about how excited they are about getting that oil and very hand wavy about everything else. It would be ridiculous to argue that the current regime has any genuine concerns or interest about democracy, drug trafficking (even just pardoned one), or the legitimacy of Venezuela's government.
      - monerozcash 11mo ago
        > the current regime is very open about how excited they are about getting that oil and very hand wavy about everything else Yes, because it makes sense to trust what the Trump admin tells you. Oil might be one of the many excuses they give, but it's obviously a lie because there is nobody else in the world capable of profitably extracting Venezuelan crude at any meaningful scale.

ArcHound 11mo ago

Hello, I am from overseas. Can someone please explain to me why would they do that? What is the goal, what is the plan, what is the intent? Thanks for any comments, I am utterly confused.

genter 11mo ago
Don't worry, a significant portion of us in the US are also utterly confused in regards to whats going on with the federal government.
- ArcHound 11mo ago
  Thanks. I just saw at BBC that it was "for a very good reason". I just thought that I'm missing some context. I guess all that's left to say is to wish you a great day.
  - antifa 11mo ago
    That very good reason's name? Manufacturing Consent. Iraq WMDs 2.0 brought to you by Mr No New Wars.
drannex 11mo ago
Oil. It's always oil.
SilverElfin 11mo ago
I suspect they want to gain access to Venezuelan oil reserves to make energy cheaper, reduce prices, and win elections. Or grift off it for personal wealth. Or both.
sundbry 11mo ago
I suspect it's loaded with drugs rerouted from the speedboats that have been getting BTFO.
- dpkirchner 11mo ago

SilverElfin 11mo ago

Imagine saying vile things about Somalians for weeks and then turning into an actual Somalian pirate (EDIT: a small fraction of Somalians). What a farce.

moomoo11 11mo ago
[flagged]
- grafmax 11mo ago
  Venezuela participates in a small portion of the illegal drug trade. US government officials have stated that they want Venezuela’s oil reserves. This is a transparent excuse for an oil grab.
  - moomoo11 11mo ago
    So? And what about my point that fishermen don't move at 100 knots in speedboats filled with plastic wrapped packages they start dumping as soon as they're spotted? How does Venezuela have so much oil and yet their population suffers tremendously? Let me guess that is also somehow the fault of USA/capitalism/colonialism?
    - dpkirchner 11mo ago
      You seem to have more proof of their alleged crimes than the government has offered anyone else, where did you get it?
      - deleted 11mo ago
        [deleted]
    - Kim_Bruning 11mo ago
      I haven't seen a source on plastic wrapped packages. Can you point to where that might be?
- 11mo ago

spjt 11mo ago

Interesting that I read elsewhere that most Venezuelan oil goes to China due to the sanctions. Would be nice to see them put a carrier group down there to guard their shipments...

neom 11mo ago
Deescalation would be preferable to escalation no? Personally I'd prefer this cold war we're living through not kick off into global hot war.
TitaRusell 11mo ago
Whoever replaces Maduro will still be corrupt. Americans think they are fighting the good fight but it will turn out like Iraq: the spice will flow and the Chinese know it. Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake.
- sylos 11mo ago
  Americans don't think this is any kind of good fight.
JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
> Would be nice to see them put a carrier group down there to guard their shipments... This would be a 4D chess move right off the edge of the game board and into a latrine. China doesn't want to get involved in an oil war. It doesn't want to send its limited blue-water capabilities into America's backyard to get painted. It doesn't want to deal with oil supply chains against America's nuclear-powered fleet. And it doesn't want to risk Trump popping an aneurysm and disabling their ships, an attack to which all retaliation options carry material risks of nuclear escalation (in a way bombing boats on the other side of the world does not), and which would mean trashing China's and the global economy as the trade war turns blockade.
- monerozcash 11mo ago
  China also doesn't have the capabilities to extract the super heavy and poor quality Venezuelan crude, only the US has those capabilities. Essentially all of the existing infrastructure in Venezuela was built by Americans, and is crumbling. While Venezuela has tremendous amounts of oil, most of it is not very easy to extract profitably.

jjkaczor 11mo ago

Give the Mr. "New New Wars" another "peace prize"...

basisword 11mo ago

Can someone explain why US sanctions on Iranian oil would have any relevance to Venezuela? And why the US would have any right to enforce those sanctions by seizing some other countries tanker? Or is this the US just doing what it wants because nobody will tell it otherwise?

seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
Oh, I think I know this one. Venezuela crude is really heavy and dirty, but a lot of refineries, including ones in Texas and I imagine Iran, are designed to mix it with some lighter crude to derive a decent gasoline yield. These refineries only work like this however, and have basically become dependent on dirty crude sources like Venezuela. The USA I think is dealing via Alberta tar sands, but maybe they decided to just steal the oil from Venezuela directly (Trump is unhinged like that).
crest 11mo ago
This is the US navy resorting to gunboat diplomacy.
JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
> Can someone explain why US sanctions on Iranian oil would have any relevance to Venezuela? "Brokers in Singapore told The Wall Street Journal that a tanker called the Skipper was the vessel seized off Venezuela early Wednesday. The tanker, formerly called the Adisa, had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for carrying Iranian crude" [1]. [1] https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-in-escalation-of-pressure-on-maduro-regime-ec2cd0b6?mod=hp_lead_pos3 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off...
cocoricamo 11mo ago
There are shadow fleets of tankers trafficking oil across the world. Venezuelan oil is sanctioned as well as Iranian so no company without licenses and correct paperwork would touch it unless you move it enough to hide the origin. In the end they all know where it comes from but like the plausible deniability. Most Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour and needs to be mixed with lighter oil to be refined and they need access to restricted chemicals for the process. As it was explained to me a few months ago Iran provides lighter oil, solvents and materials for the refining and they take the heavier oil to sell it in the black market. Sanctions aside the tanker was there for the taking by any government. Spoofing location and flying a false flag are enough to justify boarding and seizure by any country since it's a stateless ship likely involved in illegal activities. In short yes, USA does it because it can and there's legal justification for it beyond "Trump oil, Trump bad lel", but as usual HN devolves to a potato when world events touch USA politics.

JumpCrisscross 11mo ago

"The move came just hours after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado left the country on a boat, an escape that potentially gave the Trump administration an opening to take more aggressive action against the Maduro regime" [1]. [1] https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-in-escalation-of-pressure-on-maduro-regime-ec2cd0b6?mod=hp_lead_pos3 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off...

zzleeper 11mo ago
Hope they don't confuse her boat and blow her up :/
- tim333 11mo ago
  She made it to Oslo and is celebrating her peace prize by calling for an invasion https://news.sky.com/story/venezuela-has-already-been-invaded-says-nobel-peace-prize-winner-machado-when-asked-about-trump-intervention-13482086 https://news.sky.com/story/venezuela-has-already-been-invade...

monerozcash 11mo ago

>a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually -DJT Spoiler alert: It wasn't Trump tanker DWT: 310309 Sirius Star DWT: 318000

m463 11mo ago
hmmm... "seized" :) Sirius Star ... on 15 November 2008, becoming the largest ship ever captured by pirates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sirius_Star https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sirius_Star
- monerozcash 11mo ago
  I'm too lazy to edit the wikipedia page to say "seized" instead of captured, so let's just pretend I did that.

leopoldj 11mo ago

This ship is a known blockade runner. "The ship has frequently carried oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, and its tracking data shows multiple recent trips to Iran and Venezuela" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-venezuela-tracking-data.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-ve...

Aloisius 11mo ago
For it to be a blockade runner, there would need to be a blockade. Are we blockading Venezuela? That would generally be considered an act of war.
- nradov 11mo ago
  Right. The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. I don't know whether this was the real reason but as of today other vessels are still sailing in and out of Venezuelan ports without interference. There is no blockade. The vessel is registered in Guyana so I guess they can complain if they think the seizure was illegitimate. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:411444 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:41...
  - dragonwriter 11mo ago
    > The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. “Sanctions” imposed by one country on another limiting its trade with third countries are (if force is used to effect them) a (limited) blockade and absolutely an act of war.
    - nradov 11mo ago
      Well then I guess Guyana can declare war on the USA if they want to.
  - perihelions 11mo ago
    Guyana says it's a false flag, > "The government of Guyana — which borders Venezuela — said in a statement Wednesday the ship was falsely flying the Guyanese flag, despite not being registered in the South American country" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski... (Context reminder: Guyana is the country Venezuela's Maduro threatened to invade in 2023). (Also context: the sanctions on this ship's Russian owner date from 2022, and are about violating US sanctions on Iranian oil).

deleted 11mo ago

[deleted]

classified 11mo ago

> In July, the Trump administration walked back a February move to cut off U.S. oil giant Chevron from doing business in Venezuela. "It's OK when it's our guy."