New Trump-Xi Showdown Approaches As Chinese Tankers Press Ahead To Venezuela Despite Blockade

Two Chinese-flagged very large crude carriers are proceeding toward Venezuelan waters despite a U.S.-imposed blockade on sanctioned oil tankers, raising the prospect of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over Venezuela’s crude exports.

Shipping data published by Lloyd’s List on Tuesday shows the Thousand Sunny is expected to arrive at Venezuela’s Jose Terminal in mid-January after rounding the Cape of Good Hope empty in the southern Atlantic, Newsweek reports. The vessel, which is not subject to U.S. sanctions, has historically transported Venezuelan Merey heavy crude to China. A second unsanctioned Chinese-flagged VLCC, the Xing Ye, is currently positioned off French Guiana, awaiting loading at the same terminal, Newsweek said.

Both the State Department and China’s Foreign Ministry have remained mum on the vessels’ movements.

The high-stakes voyages come as President Donald Trump escalates pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, including a mid-December order for a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country. U.S. forces have seized at least two tankers carrying Venezuelan crude in international waters this month, with a third evading boarding. The Pentagon has described the measures as a “quarantine” aimed at curbing revenue to the Maduro government, which Washington accuses of links to drug trafficking and terrorism.

Separately, the Central Intelligence Agency carried out a drone strike on a remote coastal dock in Venezuela earlier this month, marking the first acknowledged U.S. operation on Venezuelan territory, according to people familiar with the matter briefed to CNN.The target, believed by U.S. officials to be used for storing and loading narcotics onto boats – potentially by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – was unoccupied at the time, and no casualties were reported. The strike followed a series of U.S. attacks on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in international waters.

Trump first referenced the operation in a Friday radio interview with WABC’s John Catsimatidis, saying U.S. forces had “knocked out” a “big facility where the ships come from” two nights earlier.

On Monday, Trump elaborated on the mission during a gaggle with reporters, saying, “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs… That is no longer around.”

The White House and Pentagon have declined to provide further details on the operation or its execution. Venezuelan officials have not publicly responded to the reports.