Venezuela Passes 20-Year Prison Law Targeting ‘Piracy’ and ‘Blockades’ After Tanker Seizures

Dec 23 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s ruling-party controlled National Assembly unanimously approved a law on Tuesday that allows prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone who promotes or finances what it describes as piracy or blockades.

The law, which includes “other international crimes,” comes after recent U.S. actions against Venezuelan oil shipments.

The U.S. Coast Guard seized a sanctioned supertanker carrying Venezuelan crude earlier this month and attempted to intercept two other vessels linked to Venezuela over the weekend, U.S. officials said.

The interceptions mark Washington’s toughest blow to state oil company PDVSA since its Treasury Department sanctioned the oil company’s former trading partners, two subsidiaries of Russia’s Rosneft, in 2020, forcing it to cut production and exports. PDVSA was already under sanctions since 2019.

The draft "Law to Guarantee Freedom of Navigation and Commerce Against Piracy, Blockades, and Other International Illicit Acts" was introduced on Monday by pro-government lawmaker Giuseppe Alessandrello.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said at the end of the session the bill will be sent to the executive for approval and will take effect once published in the Official Gazette.

Washington has increased pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro in recent months, including stepping up a military build-up in the Caribbean and killing dozens of people in strikes on boats it says, without providing evidence, are trafficking drugs off its coasts.

U.S. authorities say the operations are part of efforts to combat sanctions evasion and drug trafficking.

Maduro says the United States is seeking to undermine Venezuela's economy and remove him from power.

Rodriguez also blasted Venezuela's political opposition, whose leader has been in hiding for months but traveled to Oslo earlier December to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.

He accused the opposition of promoting sanctions and said they "stole, plundered, bowed down to U.S. imperialism," adding that "they are happy with the aggressive actions currently taking place in the Caribbean Sea."

(Reporting by Reuters Staff)

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This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.

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