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Venezuelan security forces have detained several Americans over the past few months Donald Trump orders US troops to begin crackdown on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and prevent suspected sanctioned oil tankers from leaving the country.
new york times To quote a U.S. official who told the news media The State Department is considering designating two Americans, Among them was a traveler from Staten Island named James Lackey-Lange who was wrongly detained.
The 28-year-old singer is the son of musician Diane Luckey, who went by the stage name Q Lazzarus and is best known for the 1988 single “Goodbye Horses,” which was featured in the 1991 psychological thriller film Silence of the Lambs.
The identities of other Americans detained in The circumstances of Venezuelan captivity have not yet been made public. Some detained Americans face legitimate criminal charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. of the times source.
The United States has been escalating political and military pressure for months on the government of Nicolás Maduro, which the Trump administration accuses of being controlled by the Cartel del Sol, a drug-trafficking organization led by Maduro himself.
Maduro has previously used captured U.S. citizens as pressure to negotiate with Washington. Instead, Trump has made the release of Americans imprisoned in any overseas territory a priority of his two-term presidency.
The president reportedly sent U.S. envoy Richard Grenell to Venezuela to negotiate a prisoner deal within days of returning to office New York Times. A prisoner swap in July resulted in the release of 10 U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
Reports of the newly detained Americans came as the U.S. State Department announced sanctions on Wednesday against four entities it said were “illegally operating in Venezuela’s oil industry.”
“The Trump administration has also blocked four related oil tankers that are part of a shadow fleet that funds Nicolás Maduro’s illegitimate and corrupt regime and allows Maduro and his cronies to evade sanctions,” statement read.
“Today’s sanctions continue President Trump’s pressure campaign against Maduro and his associates. The Trump administration is committed to disrupting the networks that support Maduro and his illegitimate regime.”
independent The U.S. State Department has been contacted for comment on reports of Venezuelan detainees.
Some of the tankers intercepted or intercepted by U.S. forces were part of the so-called “shadow fleet,” a group of dozens of ships that use shell companies and flags of convenience to evade U.S. sanctions and international law.
“These vessels, some of which are part of the shadow fleet serving Venezuela, continue to provide financial resources to Maduro’s illicit narco-terrorist regime,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Maduro regime has increasingly relied on the shadow fleet of vessels around the world to facilitate sanctioned activities, including sanctions evasion, and to generate revenue for its destabilizing operations. Today’s actions further demonstrate that those involved in the Venezuelan oil trade continue to face significant sanctions risks.”
Meanwhile, U.S. military strikes targeting small vessels operating in the Caribbean have killed more than 100 people since the operation began this year. The Trump administration claims the ships are used for drug smuggling but has not publicly provided evidence.
The White House has yet to ask Congress for authorization to use military force in the region, but efforts to introduce a war powers resolution to limit the government’s strike have not been successful.
International experts and critics of the U.S. government called the attack an extrajudicial murder and accused the government of using lethal force against a suspect who posed no imminent threat to any life, in language that law enforcement would not accept.
The government and its allies rejected the criticism. Anger over growing military attacks surged earlier this year after news broke of an operation in September that included a second attack on a damaged ship, killing injured survivors who clung to the wreckage to stay afloat.
on Monday CNN reports In early December, a CIA-directed attack targeted a marina on the Venezuelan coast. No casualties were reported, the first in Trump’s military campaign to target Venezuelan territory.