Washington, United States—US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that Washington’s blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil is in effect “anywhere in the world,” as American forces seized tankers in the Caribbean and North Atlantic.
“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT—anywhere in the world,” Hegseth wrote on X in response to a post on the US seizure of one of the ships.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said Washington would continue to enforce an existing “oil quarantine” against Venezuela.
“We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking,” Rubio said.
The policy was announced after the US ousted and captured Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who was put under trial in New York over allegations of narcoterrorism, along with his wife Cilia Flores.
