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Russia requested this week that the United States end its pursuit of the vessel, which was intercepted in the Caribbean on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela.
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The tanker, which had been sailing to Venezuela to pick up oil, has claimed Russian protection, although the U.S. authorities say it is a stateless vessel.
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As the Trump administration escalates its military campaign against Venezuela, we speak to Venezuelan journalist Andreína Chávez about the latest developments. Responding to the U.S. military's drone strikes on small boats and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, Chávez says U.S. claims of pursuing fentanyl traffickers lack evidence and are "pretext" for an attempt "to asphyxiate the Venezuelan economy" and wrest control of the country's state-owned oil reserves. In the face of U.S. aggression, says Chávez, "Venezuelan communes and Venezuelan popular organizations in general have responded to Trump's claims that he owns the Venezuelan oil with a very strong response, saying that they're going to defend sovereignty, that they're going to defend Venezuela's self-determination."
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