A Venezuelan oil tanker seized by US forces this week is being diverted to Houston, reported Newsweek.
The vessel, carrying an estimated 1.85 million barrels of Merey heavy crude, was intercepted off Venezuela's coast. Sources told Reuters the tanker is too large to enter Houston port directly and will need to offload its cargo onto smaller ships.
President Donald Trump said the US intends to keep the oil, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed a legal process will follow. Caracas condemned the seizure as "international piracy" and "brazen theft," accusing Washington of trying to control Venezuela's resources.
Russia demanded answers, with President Vladimir Putin calling Nicolas Maduro to pledge support and discuss a strategic partnership. A senior US official described the action as a judicial enforcement against a stateless vessel last docked in Venezuela.
Venezuela's oil output has fallen from more than two million barrels per day to about one million. The seizure comes amid a US military build-up in the Caribbean and strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats. Trump has renewed threats of intervention by land, air or sea, including a fighter jet flyover near Venezuelan airspace.
https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9251200000499
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