Second oil tanker taken: U.S. escalates Venezuela pressure

TEHRAN – The U.S. seizure of a second Venezuelan oil tanker, Centuries, underscores a clear strategy: Washington is leveraging military power to control Venezuela’s primary source of revenue. Coming just weeks after the first tanker, Skipper, was taken, the operation signals that the Trump administration’s so-called “blockade” is more than sanctions enforcement—it is a forceful effort to weaken Venezuela’s economy and pressure its government.