Venezuelan gas lines surge as Iranian tankers go undercover

 Gasoline shorts have returned to Venezuela, sparking mile-long lines in capital as international concerns mounted Tuesday that Iran yet again may be trying to come to South American nation's rescue.

Three Iranian tankers that delivered gasoline to Venezuela earlier this year have turned off ir location tracking devices for up to three weeks, raising suspicions among global ship trackers that tankers are again headed to Iran's ally.

Iran uses cloaking to evade detection by United States, which seeks to block shipments to Venezuela in a campaign aimed at forcing socialist President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Samir Madani, a co-founder of independent oil tracking firm TankerTrackers.com, said it is possible three ships could make entire journey to Venezuela with ir transponders off.

“Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me w at this point, given that Iranians experiment on a weekly basis with new evasive tactics,” said Madani, who tracks shipments with satellite imry and maritime tracking data. “y’re really good at that. best, actually.”

Venezuela holds world's largest oil reserves, yet it is unable to refine eugh crude to meet its domestic needs. Maduro's government blames crippling U.S. sanctions, while critics say two decades of corruption and mismanment under socialist rule have left nation once-thriving oil industry in ruins.

It is unclear wher Iran is attempting to send gasoline in its ships — Forest, Fortune and Faxon. Iranian Embassy in Caracas did t respond to a request for comment by Associated Press.

If so, this would be third time this year that Iran has sent fuel shipments to Venezuela in a partnership between two nations that are both targeted by United States as having authoritarian regimes.

Venezuelan authorities in May celebrated arrival of five Iranian tankers loaded with gasoline, sending fighter jets to greet m entering Caribbean waters and playing Iran’s national anm on state TV. That delivery allowed gas pumps to provide fuel with little or lines.

However, U.S. officials a month ago seized Iranian gasoline en route to Maduro in a flotilla of four Greek-owned ships flying flag of West African nation of Liberia. military force was used in seizures and ships weren’t physically confiscated. Rar, U.S. officials threatened ship owners, insurers and captains with sanction to force m to hand over ir cargo.

re was indication of how Trump administration might respond to any furr Iranian shipments to Venezuela. U.S. State Department didn't respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Madani said he concluded three Iranians tankers loaded with gasoline are heading to Venezuela because vessels fit a pattern of an earlier shipment to Venezuela, signaling a special delivery. Most Iranian gasoline exports are shipped by foreign vessels, he said.

“ U.S. Navy isn’t going to do anything against Iranian tankers,” he said. “Iranian flag means it’s going to reach destination.”

Venezuelans are again scrambling to fill up, even in capital of Caracas — rmally immune to shorts felt across nation. Many pumps in Caracas are shut off and ors offering fuel had lines that run over a mile.

Taxi driver Miguel Veliz, stuck in a long gas line in Caracas, said Tuesday that he didn't care where gasoline comes from. He just wants to get back to work so he can earn a living.

Veliz said that starting Friday he had spent a total of more than 15 hours waiting at three gas stations. Twice he was turned away, and on Tuesday he hoped he would finally succeeding in filling up before his car's tank hit empty.

“We'll see if I catch a bit of good luck today,” he said. “What can I tell you? This is chaos.”