CARACAS/HAVANA/FOZ DO IGUACU, Brazil - The Venezuelan government on Saturday denounced what it called a new "theft and kidnapping" of a private vessel transporting Venezuelan oil, along with the forced disappearance of its crew, allegedly carried out by US military forces in international waters.
Authorities described the incident as an act of piracy that seriously violated international law and undermined fundamental principles of freedom of navigation and maritime trade.
According to an official statement, the action breached international legal instruments protecting maritime safety, as well as core norms enshrined in the UN Charter and other multilateral conventions.
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US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Saturday that US forces seized the vessel off the Venezuelan coast earlier in the day.
This is the second time in recent weeks that the United States has seized a tanker near Venezuela amid a large US military build-up in the region.
The seizure also comes just days after US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all US-sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said Saturday that the US government's designation of the legitimate government of Venezuela as a "foreign terrorist organization" is a politically motivated act.
"It is a new arbitrary, fraudulent, unilateral and politically motivated act. It shows, once again, the lack of credibility of these decisions and the manipulation of terrorism as a political weapon, which also weaken international efforts against that scourge," Rodriguez said on X.
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Earlier this week, Trump announced the designation of Venezuela as a "foreign terrorist organization."
Rodriguez said the United States intends to impose an international isolation, increase pressure, escalate on an aggression that would have unpredictable consequences for peace, security and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He also emphasized Cuba's all-out solidarity and support for the people and government of Venezuela in the face of "this infamous barbarism."
'A humanitarian catastrophe'
Also on Saturday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that an armed intervention in Venezuela would be "a humanitarian catastrophe" for the region and set a dangerous precedent for the world.
Speaking at the 67th Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur and Associated States, Lula referred to US threats and actions against Venezuela, including a naval blockade and military pressure on the Caribbean nation.
Latin America is shocked by "the military presence of an extra-regional power," Lula said, stressing that "building a prosperous and peaceful South America is the only doctrine that suits us."
"The limits of international law are being tested. An armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe for the hemisphere and a dangerous precedent for the world," he said.
Lula said he told Trump in a recent phone call that negotiation is a more effective and less costly path than military confrontation. The Trump administration has blocked oil tankers sailing to or from Venezuela and designated the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as "a foreign terrorist organization."
Several Latin American countries and regional organizations have denounced the US actions, calling for dialogue and urging the United Nations and the international community to act.
