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Trump says US to keep oil, ships seized off Venezuelan coast
Trump says US to keep oil, ships seized off Venezuelan coast
The US will keep the oil and ships that it seized off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Monday. "We're going to keep it...Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it. Maybe we'll use it in the Strategic Reserves. We're keeping the ships also," he told reporters in the state of Florida.
President Donald Trump on Monday said oil tankers seized by the United States off the coast of Venezuela would remain in US possession.
Asked by reporters about the oil on board the first tanker taken under control on December 10, Trump said, "We'll keep it." He added that the oil might be used for strategic reserves.
"We're keeping the ships also," Trump said.
The US Coast Guard recently seized two oil tankers in the Caribbean.
Since Sunday, it has also been tracking a third ship, which is said to be part of the so-called shadow fleet that Venezuela is using to circumvent sanctions, according to media reports.
Last week, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he would impose a "A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela."
Trump justified the move by claiming that the South American country had stolen oil, land and other assets from the US, which must be returned.
The Venezuelan government rejected the demand, calling it a "grotesque threat" and a serious violation of international law.
In the early 2000s, Venezuela nationalized oil fields, affecting foreign and also US companies. This led to a dispute over compensation payments.
Trump on Monday confirmed in response to a reporter's question that he had spoken with major US oil companies whose assets had been seized, but declined to provide details of the talks.
