US President Donald Trump has announced that US authorities have seized an enormous oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
“It was an interesting day in terms of news. As you probably know, we just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, huge, one of the largest ever seized. Other things are happening, and you’ll see and talk about that later,” Trump told reporters.
A little later, he added: “The seizure was made on grave grounds,” without providing details, and promised to release photos soon.
Immediately after Trump’s announcement, US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted additional information on social media.
She said that the tanker had been under US sanctions for years for “participating in an illegal oil transportation network that supports foreign terrorist organizations.”
According to Bondi, tankers carrying oil from Venezuela and Iran, both under sanctions, were seized.
“The seizure of the tankers off the coast of Venezuela was safe and successful,” the attorney general stressed, adding that the investigation into the “transportation of sanctioned oil” case is ongoing.
