Since early December, the US Coast Guard and other military branches have boarded and taken control of five oil ships that had previously been sanctioned. They were all either accused of being in the process of transporting Venezuelan oil or on their way to take on oil that has been subject to US sanctions since President Donald Trump began a pressure campaign against the leadership of the country during his first term.
On Friday the US boarded its fifth ship, although this time Trump announced that it would be returned to Venezuela to offload oil there. The Olina, previously called the Minerva M, was “on its way back to Venezuela” he wrote on social media, saying that proceeds would be part of an energy deal he is negotiating with the interim government.
The seizure of ships is part of what Trump has termed a “blockade” of sanctioned vessels, a strategy that began before the US military operation that extracted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from Caracas and brought him to New York where he faces drug trafficking charges.
The other four ships that US troops have boarded remain in US control, with one near the port of Houston and the other three being escorted by US ships.
Here’s the process, according to experts, that the US undertakes when considering seizing a ship, how it takes control of the vessel, and what it does next:
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