White House Orders U.S. Forces to Enforce Two-Month Quarantine on Venezuelan Oil

Overview

• A U.S. official said commanders were directed to focus almost exclusively for the next two months on interdicting Venezuelan oil under sanctions.
• The Coast Guard has seized two tankers carrying Venezuelan crude and is pursuing the empty Bella 1, which turned back toward the Atlantic, according to officials.
• Washington has deployed more than 15,000 troops, an aircraft carrier, 11 other warships and over a dozen F‑35s in the Caribbean to support the effort.
• President Donald Trump said the United States would keep or sell seized crude and the ships, while telling the U.N. it will enforce sanctions "to the maximum extent."
• Venezuela, Russia, China and U.N. human rights experts condemned the interdictions as unlawful, as scrutiny grows over earlier U.S. boat strikes that have killed roughly 99–105 people since September.