The United States has seized a second vessel in international waters off Venezuela's coast, officials said Saturday, following last week's first tanker capture and President Donald Trump's mid-week announcement of a full blockade on sanctioned oil tankers. The action heightens U.S. pressure amid a military buildup in the region.
U.S. Coast Guard-led forces are interdicting the vessel near Venezuela, confirmed three anonymous officials to Reuters. Exact location details were withheld, and the White House, Coast Guard, Pentagon, Venezuela's oil ministry, and PDVSA had no immediate comment.
The operation follows Trump's Tuesday declaration: “I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.” This builds on the prior week's seizure of another sanctioned tanker, enforcing an effective embargo. Loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels have lingered in Venezuelan waters to evade interception, slashing crude exports.
While many Venezuelan oil tankers face U.S. sanctions, some from Iran or Russia do not; U.S. firm Chevron uses authorized ships. China, the top buyer, gets about 4% of its imports from Venezuela, with December volumes over 600,000 barrels per day. Global oil supplies remain ample, but a prolonged embargo could cut nearly a million barrels daily, pressuring prices.
TankerTrackers.com data this week shows over 70 shadow fleet tankers in Venezuelan waters, including 38 under U.S. Treasury sanctions and at least 15 loaded with crude or fuel.
Trump's anti-Maduro campaign features increased regional deployments and over two dozen strikes on vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean near Venezuela, causing at least 100 deaths. He has signaled forthcoming land strikes. Maduro accuses the U.S. of aiming to oust him and control Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the world's largest.