Venezuela Dispatches its Navy to Escort Tankers Past U.S. "Blockade"

In defiance of the Trump administration's "blockade" of sanctioned tanker traffic to Venezuela's crude export terminals, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has ordered his navy to provide departing vessels with a warship escort. According to the New York Times, these escort operations have already occurred on several departures for tankers bound for Asia; they raise the risk of a possible military-to-military encounter with the U.S. Navy, which has built up a massive presence in the Caribbean.

The White House is considering its response to the Venezuelan escorts, one source told the Times. Any attempt at an armed interdiction - as the U.S. Coast Guard carried out aboard the tanker Skipper last week - could now spark an exchange of fire, rather than a peaceful surrender.

A naval blockade is an act of war under international law, but the U.S. has not declared war on Venezuela, nor has it announced an all-encompassing naval cordon. The blockade is only partial: merchant ships and tankers continue to trade to and from Venezuela, including at least one newly-arrived tanker that fits the "blockade" definition, according to TankerTrackers.com. The consultancy has identified dozens of U.S.-sanctioned tankers currently within Venezuelan waters, including 26 vessels that could be used for exports. 15 of them are already laden with oil, and they will be watched closely in days and weeks to come.

The exact details of the White House's blockade are unclear, and the building pressure campaign is viewed with skepticism by Trump's political opponents in Washington.

"Donald Trump does not have the authority to carry out his current plans to use military force in the Caribbean without authorization from Congress," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a statement Wednesday. "If he acts without congressional authorization, the Senate will move a bipartisan resolution to prevent the unauthorized use of force. Americans do not want more endless wars."

The U.S. military has already been engaged in lethal strikes off the coast of Venezuela, Colombia and Central America for months, aiming to stem the flow of "narco-terrorist" cocaine smuggling for onward shipment to Europe and North America. On Wednesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that another drug boat had been attacked and destroyed in the Eastern Pacific, killing four people.