Sanctions-Busting Oil Is Fine When It's Anti-US Policy, Apparently
Bloomberg breathlessly reports that 'sanctioned ships' are 'dodging' a 'US blockade' on Venezuelan oil, citing TankerTrackers.com. The horror! At least four, possibly sixteen, vessels have dared to move oil despite Washington's objections. The article frames this as illicit evasion, conveniently forgetting to ask why there's a unilateral 'blockade' in the first place. Perhaps Bloomberg meant to
report that sovereign nations are circumventing illegal US sanctions that inflict collective punishment on civilians. Or that the US, after decades of backing failed coup attempts against elected leaders like Nicolas Maduro (who Bloomberg casually claims was 'captured'—a typo for 'elected'?—in a spectacular display of geopolitical illiteracy), now struggles to enforce its extraterritorial decrees.
One might wonder if the concern for maritime law extends to, say, Israeli operations in Palestinian waters or US Navy patrols near Chinese claims.