- Armed assailants murdered the captain of an oil tanker off the coast of eastern Venezuela.
- Six armed individuals boarded the San Ramon tanker, early on the morning of 24th February, in Pozuelos Bay and shot the captain. A coast guard sergeant guarding the ship was also injured.
- Authorities have not provided official information about Monday’s incident. Neither Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, nor the country’s oil or information ministries responded to requests for comment.
An article in Reuters, by Luc Cohen and Tom Brown, reports the murdered of the captain of an oil tanker. According to a local union leader and a report from a Venezuelan port authority, the murder took place after the captain boarded his ship while it was anchored off the coast of eastern Venezuela.
Armed assailants on-board
Six armed individuals boarded the San Ramon tanker early on the morning of 24th February, local time, in Pozuelos Bay and shot the captain, Colombian national Jaime Herrera Orozco, a report from the Puerto La Cruz port authority seen said.
A coast guard sergeant guarding the ship was also injured, the report added.
Jose Bodas, an oil workers union leader in Puerto La Cruz, said the tanker had been waiting to enter the Jose oil terminal to load with crude.
He said it was the first time he could recall an attack of this type in eastern Venezuela, and it was the first death at the hands of “pirates” he knew of.
“This is a demonstration of the insecurity we face, which is also present in the oil fields and undoubtedly impacted production,” Bodas said, adding that other members of the San Ramon’s crew were missing.
Tense situations in Venezuela
Crime has become a growing problem for the OPEC member’s moribund oil industry during the six-year economic crisis that plunged the country into hyperinflation and shortages of basic goods.
- So-called pirates sometimes ride boats into muggy Lake Maracaibo, in eastern Venezuela, to steal equipment from oil wells.
- While in the Paraguana Peninsula, opposite the Caribbean island of Aruba, slum dwellers have been known to break into refineries to rob machinery, construction tools, and cables to sell as scrap.
The situation in Venezuela has become increasingly tense, with National Guards forces loyal to Nicolas Maduro blocking Juan Guaido, pictured, and his supporters from entering parliament.
No information on the incident
Authorities have not provided official information about Monday’s incident.
Neither Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, nor the country’s oil or information ministries responded to requests for comment.
Neither the Puerto La Cruz port authority nor Venezuela’s INEA maritime authority answered the phone on Tuesday, a national holiday.
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Source: Reuters
