Mike Baker

Southern Command made clear what this operation was meant to signal.

In its statement, the command said the seizure, quote, demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully, end quote.

The U.S.

military also released aerial footage showing the Sajita underway at sea, though unlike earlier videos of seizures, this one didn't show helicopters or boarding teams landing on the deck.

This latest seizure fits into a much larger push underway since Nicolas Maduro's capture in the U.S.

raid that took place on the 3rd of January.

Since then, the Trump administration has been moving to assert direct control over Venezuela's oil sector.

White House officials describe the tanker seizures not just as an enforcement tool, but also as a way to generate revenue, as Washington works to rebuild Venezuela's degraded oil infrastructure

and stabilize an economy hollowed out by years of socialist mismanagement and corruption.

That strategy was on display earlier this month when Trump met with oil industry executives to discuss plans to invest as much as $100 billion in Venezuela's energy sector.

And just yesterday, speaking at the White House, Trump said the U.S.

achieved a goal of removing 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.

Trump said it's being sold on the open market.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, the 21st of January.

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