Oil Tanker Seizure Linked to Trump’s Latin America Drug Crackdown

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem connected the seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuela to the Trump administration's anti-drug campaign in Latin America. The US sees this as a necessary measure to counter Maduro's narcoterrorism, despite Venezuela calling it piracy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem linked the recent seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela to the Trump administration's intensified counterdrug strategies in Latin America. She outlined this during her testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee, amidst rising tensions with President Nicolas Maduro's government.

Noem justified the US forces' unusual move of taking control of the vessel, relating it to a broader strategy aimed at pressuring the Maduro regime. This action forms part of an ongoing campaign against narcoterrorism, with the US accusing Maduro of facilitating the influx of illegal drugs.

President Trump affirmed the operation's rationale, citing the need to combat drug smuggling from the region. However, Venezuela's government condemned the tanker seizure as an act of piracy and argued it's a maneuver to unseat Maduro.

(With inputs from agencies.)