The United States on Thursday seized a sixth Venezuela-linked tanker, just ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, two US officials told
Reuters.
Two US officials told Reuters that the vessel was seized in the Caribbean, though they did not reveal the name of the tanker.
The ship is the latest in a series of vessels targeted in recent weeks that were either carrying Venezuelan oil or had previously done so.
Trump is scheduled to meet Machado on Thursday. Machado, a pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has long campaigned to end the rule of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. She collected her Nobel award last month in Oslo, Norway, after escaping Venezuela by boat, and has not yet returned home.
The White House visit follows Trump’s recent call with Venezuela’s president, Delcy Rodriguez, which he described in glowing terms.
Trump praised Rodriguez as a “terrific person” and hailed “terrific progress” since US forces captured Maduro and his wife in a deadly raid. Rodriguez called the call “productive and courteous,” adding that it was marked by “mutual respect.”
“Many topics were discussed… including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security,” Trump said on social media.
On the Nobel front, Trump has publicly expressed frustration at not receiving the Peace Prize, which Machado won last year. Machado has offered to share her award with the president, and Trump said in a recent interview that it “would be a great honour” if she did so. The Nobel Institute, however, has clarified that the prize cannot be transferred.
(With inputs from agencies)
