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Multiple US lawmakers are now reacting to the United States’ decision to seize a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: Yesterday, the United States Coast Guard seized The Skipper, a large oil tanker intercepted off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration justified the seizure by alleging that the vessel was transporting sanctioned oil tied to an illegal shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations, including those connected to Venezuela and Iran. Some intelligence suggests the vessel was en route to Cuba, with plans to sell the oil to energy brokers in Asia (which would likely end up in China).
What’s going on now: Reactions from lawmakers are beginning to trickle in, revealing a deep divide in Washington. Senator Rand Paul was among the first to sound the alarm, warning, “It sounds a lot like the beginning of a war,” and insisting that “if you want war, the president should come to Congress, like the Constitution dictates.” Senator Chris Coons echoed that concern, saying he is “concerned that [Trump] is sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela,” adding that he has not received any detailed briefing on the administration’s plans. Senator Lindsey Graham stood firmly behind the Trump administration, saying, “I very much support Trump’s decision to seize the tanker,” and labeled Venezuela “a dictator-controlled narcoterrorist state.”
Senator Ted Cruz framed the seizure as a necessary strike against drug traffickers, stating, “President Trump is fulfilling his responsibility as commander-in-chief, by saying we’re going to stop this poison that’s killing our kids.” Others in the GOP, like Senators Josh Hawley, Jon Husted, and Roger Marshall, admitted they lacked key information but expressed general support for cracking down on Venezuela.
This all comes as Venezuela has condemned the move. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello lashed out, calling the United States “murderers, thieves, pirates,” and accused them of engaging in “high seas criminality.” A formal government statement described the seizure as “a deliberate plan to plunder our energy resources,” claiming the US had finally revealed its true motives. “It is not migration. It is not drug trafficking. It is not democracy. It is not human rights. It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy,” the statement read.
