(NewsNation) — The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday pursued another oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, White House officials said.
The oil tanker was under sanctions, one official said, and the chase marks the U.S. military’s third operation in less than a week against a vessel connected to the Venezuelan government. Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, has called it “illegal.”
The Trump administration has not shared details about the ship’s name or owner, but that it appeared on a list of sanctioned ships. The pursuit is still ongoing as of Monday.
Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Reuters the first two oil tankers seized were operating on the black market and providing oil to sanctioned countries.
Earlier over the weekend, a predawn seizure of a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries targeted what the White House described as a “falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil.”
The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of a shadow fleet of tankers the U.S. has accused of operating on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. It reportedly was not flying a nation’s flag when it was seized by the Coast Guard.
President Donald Trump recently announced a blockade of all oil tankers that are under sanctions from entering and leaving Venezuela, the latest move in his pressure campaign on President Nicolas Maduro, with a ramped-up presence in the region and strikes on alleged drug boats.
At least 100 people have been killed as part of the campaign, known as “Operation Southern Spear.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.