'Active pursuit of dark fleet': US intensifies Venezuela blockade; third interception attempt in two weeks

US officials on Sunday confirmed the pursuit of a third oil tanker from Venezuela following the sanctions imposed by Washington on Caracas. This comes after US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the interception of such a vessel over the weekend.According to a Reuters report, the officials confirmed that this could be the third such interception within two weeks of the sanction's imposition, if successful.The "active pursuit" of the vessel, as AFP reports, was confirmed by a US official who said, "The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion. It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order."On December 16, US President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the South American nation for the theft of alleged stolen US assets.To implement the blockade, Trump has also sent a sizable naval fleet into the Caribbean, officially framed as an anti-drug operation. Caracas, however, views it as an attempt to apply pressure and undermine President Nicolás Maduro’s government.Kristi Noem on Sunday shared the video of US forces rappelling from a helicopter onto the deck of the second vessel within two weeks, stating the US' commitment to pursue "illicit movement of sanctioned oil." Noem wrote, "In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela."On December 10, armed US agents intercepted and took control of an oil tanker named Skipper, which was transporting Venezuelan crude, sailing under a false flag, and already under US sanctions for earlier shipments of Iranian oil.