Cuba denounces U.S. seizure of oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast as ‘piracy’
Cuban officials have denounced the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday, calling it an “act of piracy and maritime terrorism” as well as a “serious violation of international law” that hurts the Caribbean island nation and its people.
“This action is part of the US escalation aimed at hampering Venezuela’s legitimate right to freely use and trade its natural resources with other nations, including the supplies of hydrocarbons to Cuba,” the Cuban foreign ministry statement said.
The statement added that the US’s action “negatively affects Cuba and intensifies the United States’ policy of maximum pressure and economic suffocation”.
The tanker, which was reported now to be heading for Galveston, Texas, was believed to loaded with nearly 2m barrels of Venezuela’s heavy crude, according to internal data from the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, according to the New York Times.
The Skipper’s destination was listed as the Cuban port of Matanzas, the outlet said. But two days after its departure, it off-loaded an estimated 50,000 barrels to another ship, which then headed north toward Cuba while the Skipper headed east toward Asia.
About 80% of Venezuela’s oil exports, or 663,000 to 746,000 barrels daily, goes to China, according to estimates. But Cuba has long relied on Venezuelan oil exports in return for medical expertise, sports instructors and security personnel who surround the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro – and are considered loyal and effective in providing personal protection. [Continue reading…]