A U.S. MILITARY HELICOPTER STALKS the Panama-flagged tanker ‘Centuries’—a ghost ship laden with black-market crude—in a brazen high-seas CAPTURE by the U.S. Coast Guard. This ISN’T just sanctions enforcement; it’s the FIRST SHOT in a dangerous new economic war targeting CHINA’S lifeline.
Department Of Homeland Security | Via Reuters
President Trump’s DECLARED BLOCKADE of Venezuela has exploded into a direct PROVOCATION against Beijing, with experts warning the seizure of the ‘Centuries’ is a LEGAL BLUEPRINT for hunting Chinese-bound oil. The U.S. is weaponizing a obscure 2002 pact with Panama to board and commandeer vessels with mere hours’ notice—a move China has condemned as a “SERIOUS VIOLATION” of international law. This is a deliberate trap sprung on America’s greatest rival.
“The most interesting part is the suggestion of the U.S. likely relying on its prior boarding agreement with the Panama Maritime Authority,” said analyst Dimitris Ampatzidis. The chilling implication? At least THREE MORE Panama-flagged shadow tankers—the Ragnar, Balsa, and Larko—are now sitting ducks, loaded with Venezuelan crude and painted with a TARGET for U.S. forces. This is a calculated escalation meant to CHOKE the Chinese economy.
Retired Coast Guard Captain Aaron Roth laid bare the brutal strategy: “By squeezing Venezuelan oil, you are not only putting tremendous pressure on the Maduro regime, but you are also impacting China STRATEGICALLY… Without Venezuelan oil, China will have to go to the market to Russia and the Middle East, which will be MORE COSTLY to them.” This is economic warfare disguised as sanctions enforcement.
The stakes are cosmic. China buys a staggering 76% of Venezuela’s output. Every tanker seized is a billion-dollar blow to Beijing’s energy security, deliberately designed to create “negotiating space” through raw coercion. But the gambit extends beyond oil—it’s a proxy battle for control of the PANAMA CANAL itself, where Trump has repeatedly threatened to “take it back” from Chinese influence.
Brandon Daniels, CEO of Exiger, warns the situation reveals a “dynamic, complex” relationship where Panama is caught between two superpowers. But with the U.S. now using Panamanian sovereignty as a weapon against Chinese shipping, the thin veneer of global trade law is shattering. The ‘Centuries’ was caught using spoofed signals, a ghost in the machine. Now, its capture signals a new era where the U.S. military polices the seas not for piracy, but for geopolitical dominance.
What happens when Beijing decides it has lost enough? The market holds its breath, waiting for the inevitable retaliation. “What still is yet to play out would be a reaction from China should the Trump administration seize a vessel headed their way,” said analyst Andrew Lipow. The next boarded tanker could be the spark that ignites a conflict far beyond Venezuelan shores.
The rules-based order is dead, replaced by a naked power grab on the high seas where your oil is stolen not by criminals, but by the world’s last superpower.
Author: Kayitsi.com
