Caracas, Dec 22 (NA) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday described the seizure of oil tankers and the confiscation of Venezuelan crude by the United States as "corsair piracy," amidst an aggressive military deployment in the Caribbean Sea. In a message on his official Telegram channel, the Venezuelan leader denounced that these actions are part of a sustained campaign of aggression against his country. "Venezuela has been reporting, facing, and defeating a campaign of aggression for 25 weeks, which ranges from psychological terrorism to the corsairs who have attacked oil tankers," Maduro stated. In this way, Maduro affirmed that these groups act as "mercenaries pirates hired by an imperial state," linking them to historical practices aimed at controlling Venezuelan trade and wealth. The oil was confiscated, and the vessels and crews remain illegally detained. The statements come after the U.S. intercepted a third oil tanker near Venezuela and reinforced the blockade of two vessels in the vicinity of the South American country, carried out by military forces.
