Venezuela seeks jail terms for supporters of US oil tanker blockade
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CARACAS: Venezuela’s parliament was set to debate legislation on Tuesday that would impose long prison sentences on citizens who support a United States oil tanker blockade that Caracas has branded an act of piracy.
The proposed law comes as tensions escalate between Washington and the government of President Nicolas Maduro following a series of US actions targeting Venezuelan oil exports. The National Assembly, dominated by Maduro’s ruling party, unanimously approved the bill at a first reading on Monday.
TOUGHER PENALTIES PROPOSED
The draft legislation, titled the “law to guarantee freedom of navigation and trade in the face of piracy, blockades and other international illicit acts”, would introduce prison terms of 15 to 20 years for Venezuelans found to be promoting or backing foreign oil blockades, along with fines exceeding US$1 million.
The bill also includes provisions aimed at protecting commercial operators affected by the measures, including access to state-sponsored legal assistance.
Venezuela already has legislation that criminalises support for international sanctions against the Maduro government, which Washington and dozens of other countries argue lacks democratic legitimacy after what they describe as fraudulent re-elections.
ESCALATING STANDOFF WITH WASHINGTON
The proposed law was introduced shortly after US forces seized a second oil tanker transporting Venezuelan crude over the weekend. On Dec 16, US President Donald Trump declared a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels entering or leaving Venezuela.
The move marked a sharp escalation in a standoff that began in September, when Washington launched a large-scale naval deployment in the Caribbean, officially described as an anti-narcotics operation.
Since then, US forces have carried out dozens of strikes on boats that Washington alleges were involved in drug trafficking. US authorities have not publicly released evidence to support those claims. More than 100 people have been killed in the strikes, with some families and regional governments saying the victims included fishermen.
POLITICAL FALLOUT AT HOME
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose whereabouts are unknown after she left hiding to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, has spoken in favour of US sanctions and the Caribbean naval deployment. Maduro has accused opposition figures of colluding with foreign powers to destabilise the country.
Venezuela has been under US oil sanctions since 2019 and currently produces about one million barrels of crude per day, most of which is sold on the black market at steep discounts.
Maduro has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking to overthrow him and seize Venezuela’s oil resources, an allegation Trump has reinforced by saying the United States wants Venezuelan oil “back” after the nationalisation of US assets in 2007.
Russia has meanwhile pledged its “full support” for Caracas as the crisis deepens.
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