The Venezuelan government reported on Sunday the departure of a Chevron company vessel loaded with crude oil from its country, amid tensions with Washington, which has confiscated two tankers in the Caribbean Sea and today is conducting an 'active pursuit' to intercept a third, as part of its military deployment near the South American nation. Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons, Delcy Rodríguez, announced on her Telegram channel the departure of the Canopus Voyager tanker 'with Venezuelan crude oil heading to the United States,' in 'strict adherence to the rules and in fulfillment of the commitments' made by the nation's oil industry. Despite the tension between Washington and Caracas, Chevron operates in Venezuela in partnership with state-owned PDVSA thanks to a Treasury Department license that exempts it from the sanctions imposed on Venezuelan crude. 'Venezuela has always been and will continue to be respectful of national and international legality. Nothing and no one will stop our homeland on its path to progress and victory!' added Rodríguez, who shared a video showing the ship. On Saturday, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, reported the confiscation of the tanker with the Panamanian flag Centuries, which, according to the White House, was a vessel with a 'false flag' part of 'the Venezuelan ghost fleet to traffic stolen oil and finance the narco-terrorist regime of Maduro.' White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly insisted that the vessel 'was transporting oil from (the Venezuelan state-owned company) PDVSA, a sanctioned company,' amid reports that the confiscated tanker is not on the U.S. blacklist. This is the second tanker confiscated after Washington seized the sanctioned vessel Skipper and the crude it was carrying on December 10. Days later, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a total blockade on the entry and exit of the country for oil tankers sanctioned by the U.S. government, as part of the pressure it exerts on the Maduro government, which Washington accuses of leading a drug trafficking network. Caracas rejected the two confiscations as a 'robbery' and insists it will take 'all corresponding actions'.
