…New details emerged Thursday about the seized #OilTanker, including about its crew, which is mainly from #Russia, according to a #US official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. American authorities have asked the crew to sail the #Skipper to the #UnitedStates, but they have another crew on standby if needed, the official said.

#Trump #law #Venezuela #Maduro #military #WarPowers #Congress #InternationalLaw #piracy #theft #RegimeChange #oil

Together, the #sanctions & the seizure of the #Skipper represent a new front in Trump’s campaign to destabilize Maduro’s regime. #Trump has accused #Maduro of operating a “narcoterrorist” cartel & has authorized a series of deadly #military strikes against boats that he has said, without publicly providing evidence, are smuggling drugs. Many current & former officials in Washington say the military buildup in the region is ultimately aimed at #RegimeChange.

#law #oil

Separately, the #Trump admin is seeking the “legal” authority to seize the #oil from the #Skipper, an #OilTanker that #US forces boarded & took possession of on Wednesday in #InternationalWaters near #Venezuela, acc/to Karoline Leavitt, the White House propagandist. The oil had come from a state-owned Venezuelan company. US authorities have so far obtained a seizure warrant for the tanker—saying that it had been used in the past to smuggle Iran oil—but not for the cargo currently on board.

#law

The #Skipper was previously known as the M/T Adisa, acc/to ship tracking data. The Adisa was sanctioned by the #US in 2022 over accusations of belonging to a sophisticated network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude #oil on behalf of #Iran’s Revolutionary Guard [#IRGC] & #Lebanon’s #Hezbollah militant group.

The network was reportedly run by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader, the US Treasury Department said at the time.

#Trump #law #InternationalLaw #OilTanker