Description: The US Coast Guard is reportedly engaged in a pursuit of a third sanctioned tanker carrying Venezuelan crude oil. The ship has been identified as the Bella 1, sanctioned by the US due to its ties to Iran and its proxy terrorist organization, Hezbollah. Previously, the US Coast Guard seized two other ships, the Skipper, carrying 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, set to be refined in the US and the Centuries, carrying 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil which is reportedly docked in Galveston, Texas. President Trump said that the US effectively confiscated these ships and they would remain under the ownership of the US government. Unverified reports have indicated that some embassies, primarily the Russian embassy in Venezuela has commenced evacuating its essential personnel due to concerns of wider and broader unrest.
Impact: The US continues to use the maritime blockade to economically suffocate Venezuela, restricting oil trade, chastising Maduro’s government even more with the ultimate goal of toppling the President by inciting domestic unrest. Opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado was previously exfiltrated from the country by a US private military company, signaling an expanded and prolonged strategy to push Maduro out of power while making sure that Venezuela’s political opposition is not under threat. The combination of military assets, the blockade of oil trading ships, sanctions and the consistent aggressive and hostile narrative stipulates rapid escalation with the potential for direct intervention continuously rising. Taking into account that direct military confrontation would inflict devastating consequences, the US would most probably continue to escalate the pressure on Maduro’s government potentially causing internal political and military divisions which could be exploited to oust the Venezuelan President.