US-Venezuela Tensions Rise After Oil Tanker Seized, Machado Receives Award

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to rise following the seizure of a suspicious Venezuelan oil tanker by American authorities, in addition to the fact that María Corina Machado was able to receive her award in Norway.

On Wednesday, the US government seized an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan oil through the Caribbean. The ship, named the Skipper, has been suspected by the Trump administration for playing a part in oil smuggling, particularly to the Middle Eastern nation of Iran, which faces heavy sanctions from the US.

Additionally, the ship had been flying the flag of Guyana despite not being registered to that country, and a New York Times report found that the tanker had most likely been cheating the system by moving its transponder to a different location when it was actually transporting oil between countries. According to the report, the ship has transported "nearly 13 million barrels of Iranian and Venezuelan oil" over the past four years.

Furthermore, the ship had actually been restricted by the US Department of the Treasury in 2022 after being proven to play a part in an international oil smuggling network that helped rebel groups in the Middle East, like Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan activist María Corina Machado was successfully able to receive her award in Oslo after the help of the United States. Machado, one of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's most prominent opponents, won the Nobel Peace Prize in October for her incredible efforts, but ceremonies to hand out the award took place just this week.

Machado was initially unable to escape her country to receive the award, which would be given out in Oslo, Norway. However, in the end, she was successfully able to make it out, which she credited to US President Donald Trump and his recent actions. While her daughter was forced to accept the award for her, as she did not arrive in time for the ceremony, she was later seen standing above massive crowds as they praised her efforts and sang Venezuela's national anthem.

Machado has consistently maintained her stance that international intervention is required to solve the situation in Venezuela, as Maduro refuses to give up his position despite calls for him to step down. Trump has also asserted that Maduro – who he has accused of being a drug kingpin – must be ousted, and he continues to ramp up his war against oil smuggling and the drug trade in Venezuela.

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