by OZGE YILDIRIM – In a statement made on the Twitter account of the Venezuelan Navy, it was stated that the “Forest” tanker, which entered the Venezuelan lands without any problems, started to be accompanied.It was stated that the tanker headed towards the port of El Palito, in the province of Carabobo.The Venezuelan Air Force has also announced that it will accompany the tanker until it reaches the port.On the other hand, it was announced that the first tanker named “Fortune”, which entered the black waters of Venezuela, reached El Palito and started to transfer the oil it brought.Iranian state television, “Fortune”, “Forest”, “Faxon”, “Petunia” and “Clavel”, announced that five oil tankers carrying a total of 1 million 53 thousand barrels of fuel were on their way to Venezuela.

Venezuela, one of the countries with the largest oil reserves in the world, cannot operate oil refineries effectively due to sanctions and the economic crisis.  Iran, where the USA imposes heavy sanctions, has a hard time selling the oil it produces.Five tankers carrying fuel oil were sent to Venezuela when Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked Iran for help to avoid the shortage of gasoline in the country due to the refineries’ failure.Speaking to the Reuters news agency, an unnamed top official from the US administration reported that measures to be taken regarding fuel tankers Iran sent to Venezuela were on the table.

“This is a clear violation of international law and the fundamental rights of Venezuelans,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on May 14 in his Twitter account. While Tehran warned the tankers that it would retaliate in case of intervention, the Caracas administration announced that the army would escort the tankers as soon as it reached the country’s land waters.In April, the US increased its military presence around Venezuela on the grounds of “fighting drugs” and sent warships and aircraft to the Caribbean.Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman stated that he did not know that he would intervene three days ago.