U.S. Intercepts Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast

AFP

A crude oil tanker is anchored on Lake Maracaibo near Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela, on 18 December 2025.

The United States has intercepted an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Saturday, days after President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.

The interception marks the second such action in recent weeks amid an expanded U.S. military presence in the region. U.S. officials said the vessel had recently departed Venezuelan waters and was carrying sanctioned oil.

In a statement posted on social media, Noem said the United States would continue efforts to halt the illicit movement of sanctioned oil, which Washington claims is used to finance narco-terrorism. “We will find you, and we will stop you,” she said.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly stated that the tanker was operating under a false flag as part of what the U.S. describes as Venezuela’s “shadow fleet,” used to transport oil in violation of sanctions. 

Venezuela’s government condemned the interception, calling it a “serious act of international piracy.” In a statement, Caracas accused the United States of hijacking a private vessel and forcibly detaining its crew in international waters, adding that the matter would be raised with the United Nations Security Council and other international bodies.

British maritime risk firm Vanguard identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged Centuries, intercepted east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. 

President Trump on Tuesday said he was ordering "A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela."

In the days since U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, there has been an effective embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure.

The Trump administration has intensified pressure on President Nicolás Maduro’s government through expanded military deployments and maritime enforcement operations. Venezuelan authorities have accused Washington of seeking regime change and control over the country’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Source: Reuters



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