U.S. pursues another tanker skirting Venezuela sanctions as GOP senator calls seizures a ‘provocation and a prelude to war’

U.S. pursues another tanker skirting Venezuela sanctions as GOP senator calls seizures a ‘provocation and a prelude to war’


The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the U.S. says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. “Look, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we don’t like that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations,” Paul said on ABC’s’ “This Week.” ”But it isn’t the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world.” The targeting of tankers comes as Trump has ordered the Defense Department to carry out a series of attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that his administration alleges are smuggling fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the United States and beyond.

Author: Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press


Published at: 2025-12-21 21:57:34

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