Days after supporters of the oil delivery scheme to Venezuela by the Iranian government rejoiced when 3 of 5 tankers the Iranians sent to Dictator Nicholas Maduro’s regime arrived via military escort, the Trump administration stopped the remaining tankers by threatening to levy direct sanctions on the two remaining vessels.
The delivery was dead on arrival, and the two ships are headed elsewhere.
After contacting the Liberian government, the U.S. called the Liberian-flagged ships directly to express their intentions. The Liberians immediately revoked the tanker's accreditations.
According to Fox News, “Two Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned ships that "were en route to Venezuela carrying Iranian fuel, scrapped their deliveries after the U.S. threatened sanctions.”
"The Iranian oil tankers arriving in Venezuela are nothing but a distraction from the real problems facing Maduro," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News. "These shipments will do nothing to help Venezuelans, they will only help prop up the former Maduro regime for a little while longer."
This oil delivery dodge by Maduro and the Iranian government was an attempt to skirt around existing sanctions
The Wall Street Journal reported on the original incident, stating that “The two Greek firms that own the ships were also threatened with U.S. sanctions and legal action, at which point the two ships abandoned the course.”
"We will continue to use the full weight of United States' economic and diplomatic power to press for the restoration of Venezuelan democracy," the State Department spokesperson added
This is just the latest effort by the Trump administration to impose maximum pressure upon the Maduro regime, which has been committing human rights atrocities in an attempt to stay in power and continue it’s criminal activities, which include drug trafficking.
The existing pressure the Trump administration has put on the Maduro government has been supported by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress.
