CrimsonPhantom
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RE: US Seizes oil tanker with Venezuelan Oil
Cuba Is Now Whining About US 'Piracy' After Tanker Seizure
Quote:We've been covering the legal seizure of the rogue oil tanker ship Skipper by the United States recently. While one wonders, rather irrelevantly, if there is another, smaller tanker named Gilligan somewhere out there, the seizure has ruffled some feathers in Venezuela and the rest of the rogues' gallery of outlaw nations (Iran, North Korea, just to name a couple) that were on this ship's list of regular stops. But now, it seems that the seizure has upset Cuba, as well.
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 proper reply to this complaint should consist of three words: "Tough noogies, Cuba."
This tanker is ours now. It was seized legally, with a seizure warrant. Unlike the (well-deserved) detonation of Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, this was a law enforcement action, not a military one, although it appears some military assets were used. And, let's be honest, if we can squeeze Cuba at the same time we're squeezing Venezuela, why not kill two socialist birds with one well-aimed American stone?
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.
While Cuba, like the previously mentioned North Korea, has clearly earned its place on the short bus of nation-states, it is smart enough to parlay off some unemployed Cuban security types in return for Venezuelan oil, as we see here. This raises an interesting question: Why would El Presidente Maduro prefer Cuban security over his own people? It would appear pretty obvious that he doesn't trust his own people, no doubt worrying that a Venezuelan security detail may do unto him what the Praetorian Guard did unto Caligula.
So, frankly, the Trump administration should reply to this by telling Cuba in no uncertain terms where to head in. And Cuba, frankly, should choose better friends - or get used to going without oil.
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