US seizes another foreign-flagged oil tanker

The US has seized another rough tank driver in the caribbean sea suspected of carrying oil color in infringement of Venezuela sanctions, American military officials have said.

The seizure comes as US President Donald Trump seeks to tighten control over Venezuela’s oil exports following the January 3 raid that abducted the South American nation’s president, Nicolas Maduro.

The US military and Coast Guard have taken five vessels in recent weeks in international waters, including the Russian-flagged Marinera northwest of Scotland. Moscow has condemned the seizure of the oil tanker as a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

On Thursday, US Southern Command said on X that the tanker – which it identified as the Veronica and which marine records suggest is sailing under a Guyanese flag – was boarded in a “pre-dawn action.” It claimed the vessel was “the latest tanker operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.” 

Through #OpSouthernSpear, the Department of War is unwavering in its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere in partnership with @USCG through @DHSgov and @TheJusticeDept.In another pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear,… pic.twitter.com/brxO9xXUu3

The post was accompanied by grainy black and white aerial footage that appeared to show troops descending onto the tanker’s deck from a helicopter.

The Southern Command did not give the precise location of the boarding. Ship tracking data indicates that the 815 foot (249 meter) Veronica was last recorded about 12 days earlier off the Venezuelan coast.

“The Department of War is unwavering in its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere,” Southern Command stated, adding that the seizure was part of Operation Southern Spear.

Reuters reported this week that the US Justice Department has filed a series of non-public civil forfeiture actions in US courts seeking warrants to seize dozens of other tankers suspected of evading sanctions and carrying oil from Venezuela, as well as Iran and Russia. The legal effort is part of a wider campaign to assert control over Venezuelan crude shipments.

After Maduro’s kidnapping, Trump said Washington would “run” Venezuela during a transitional period and needs “total access… to the oil and to other things in their country.” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that Washington intends to control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely.” 

The US actions have sparked international condemnation. Russia has called the capture of Maduro a “flagrant violation” of international law and has reaffirmed its solidarity with Venezuela “in the face of blatant neo-colonial threats and external armed aggression,” calling for Maduro’s immediate release.

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