US authorities have taken control of a sixth oil tanker connected to Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, as Washington intensifies efforts to restrict the country’s oil exports, officials have confirmed.
The tanker, named Veronica, was intercepted during a pre-dawn operation that the US military said was conducted smoothly and without resistance. According to US Southern Command, the vessel was violating President Donald Trump’s imposed “quarantine” on ships transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
In a statement, Southern Command said that all Venezuelan oil exports must now be handled “lawfully and in coordination with the United States.”
The latest seizure follows recent US military action in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. President Trump has since stated his intention to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Posting on social media, Southern Command said the Veronica was the most recent tanker to ignore the president’s restrictions on sanctioned vessels operating in Caribbean waters. The command also released footage showing US Marines and sailors boarding the ship.
According to shipping-monitoring firm TankerTrackers.com, the Veronica is a crude oil tanker sailing under a Guyanese flag. It left Venezuelan waters empty in early January. Records from the International Maritime Organization indicate the ship had previously been registered in Russia and operated under several different names.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the operation was carried out in close collaboration with the military, as well as the US departments of state and justice. In a social media post, she praised the Coast Guard for what she described as a precisely executed mission that complied fully with international law.
The seizure signals a continued crackdown by Washington on what is known as the “dark fleet” — a network of more than 1,000 vessels used globally to transport oil under international sanctions. US officials say they are coordinating with Venezuela’s interim government to regulate oil exports.
The development comes just one day after a US official confirmed that Washington had completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil since the recent political upheaval. The deal was reportedly worth $500m (£373m).
Last week, President Trump met with oil industry leaders at the White House, urging them to commit $100bn toward rebuilding Venezuela’s energy infrastructure. Industry executives reportedly said substantial reforms would be required before the country could become a viable destination for investment.
The series of tanker seizures has already had a major effect on Venezuela’s oil shipments. According to the Wall Street Journal, data from shipping analytics firm Kpler shows that crude oil loadings in January dropped to roughly half of typical levels.
Kpler reported that the only vessels currently loading oil at Venezuelan ports are those destined for the US or for domestic refineries, some of which are located far from the country’s oil-producing regions.
As of 13 January, Kpler estimated that approximately 15.5 million barrels of crude oil were sitting aboard 17 tankers in Venezuelan waters, excluding ships already en route to the United States. The firm noted that Washington could assume control of those shipments if the crackdown were expanded further.
The latest seizure occurred just hours before President Trump was scheduled to meet Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, at the White House. Trump has previously referred to her as a “freedom fighter,” though he has dismissed the idea of installing her as Venezuela’s leader, arguing she lacks sufficient domestic support.
Separately, a Venezuelan government representative is expected to visit Washington on Thursday to begin discussions with US officials on reopening the country’s embassy. The New York Times reported that the envoy, Félix Plasencia, would be the first official from Venezuela’s ruling political movement, known as chavismo, to travel to the US capital in an official capacity in several years.
