Venezuela passes law against piracy, blockades amid US oil ship 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.