US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees military operations in Latin America, said on Tuesday that it intercepted the motor vessel Sagitta as part of its blockade of oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela
The United States military has announced the seizure of a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela, as Washington tightens its grip on the production and sale of the country’s vast oil resources.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees military operations in Latin America, said on Tuesday that it intercepted the motor vessel Sagitta as part of its blockade of oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
In a statement, SOUTHCOM said the seizure showed its determination to enforce President Donald Trump’s quarantine on sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.
“The apprehension of another tanker operating in defiance of the president’s established quarantine demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela is oil that is properly and lawfully coordinated,” the command said.
The military added that the operation took place without incident and released a video appearing to show US forces approaching the vessel by air and landing on its deck.
The United States began seizing sanctioned oil tankers on December 10 as part of a campaign to increase pressure on Venezuela.
Tensions between the two countries escalated on January 3, when President Trump authorised a pre-dawn military operation aimed at abducting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
In the lead-up to that operation, Trump and senior allies, including Stephen Miller, had increasingly spoken about asserting control over Venezuelan oil, citing the United States’ early 20th-century involvement in petroleum exploration in the country.
Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in 1971, and later moves to expropriate foreign oil assets in 2007 have drawn criticism from the Trump administration, which argues that Venezuelan oil was “stolen” from US owners.
Legal experts, however, largely view such claims as a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty.
Despite this, Trump has said the United States will control Venezuela’s oil and has threatened further military action to pressure the Venezuelan government.
The Trump administration has also imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Venezuela, continuing a policy that began during the president’s first term.
US officials have framed the tanker seizures as enforcement of those sanctions, though the legality of using military force to impose economic penalties remains disputed.
Trump and his administration have said that Venezuelan oil sales on the global market will be overseen by the United States, with proceeds placed in a US-controlled bank account.
The president has also used control over Venezuelan oil to increase pressure on Cuba, which relies heavily on Venezuelan energy supplies.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump claimed the United States has taken control of 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.
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