U.S. Military Seizes Venezuela-Linked Tanker in Caribbean Amid Oil Quarantine

The U.S. military said on Tuesday it seized a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean, marking the seventh vessel intercepted since U.S. President Donald Trump began a month-long campaign aimed at tightening control over Venezuela’s oil flows. U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which is overseeing nearly a dozen warships and thousands of troops in the region, confirmed the apprehension of the Motor Vessel Sagitta, saying it was carried out “without incident.”

In a statement, SOUTHCOM said the latest seizure reflects Washington’s determination to enforce what it described as Trump’s “quarantine” of sanctioned vessels operating in the Caribbean. “The apprehension of another tanker operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean demonstrates our resolve,” the statement said, adding that the U.S. intends to ensure only “properly and lawfully” coordinated oil leaves Venezuela.

Trump has sharpened his foreign policy focus on Venezuela, initially aiming to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power. After diplomatic efforts reportedly failed, Trump ordered U.S. forces into Venezuela in an overnight raid on January 3 to detain Maduro and his wife, and has since declared the U.S. will control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely while pursuing a $100 billion plan to rebuild the country’s damaged oil industry. The intercepted vessels, officials said, have either been under U.S. sanctions or part of a “shadow fleet” used to obscure the origin of oil from sanctioned producers such as Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.

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