United States seizes seventh Venezuela-linked oil tanker in Caribbean

The United States military has captured a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s escalating efforts to tighten control over the country’s oil exports and enforce a naval quarantine of sanctioned vessels, military officials said.

US Southern Command announced on Tuesday that forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta in the Caribbean Sea “without incident”, saying the vessel was operating in defiance of a US-imposed quarantine on ships associated with Venezuelan crude.

Al Jazeera reported that the tanker, registered under a Liberian flag and managed by a company in Hong Kong, was previously sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, and military officials indicated it had taken on Venezuelan oil before its interception.

The move marks the seventh such seizure since December, as Washington has sought to disrupt Venezuela’s oil shipments and assert influence over the nation’s vital energy resources following a dramatic shift in US policy earlier this year.

President Donald Trump’s administration has framed the maritime action as part of its broader effort to regulate the production, refining and distribution of Venezuelan oil — including plans to sell the resource on global markets and channel proceeds through US-controlled accounts.

The tanker apprehensions follow a surprise US operation in early January that resulted in the ousting and detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, after which the administration signalled an intention to rebuild the country’s dilapidated oil industry with significant foreign investment.

While US officials maintain the operations are lawful and necessary to enforce sanctions, critics have questioned the legality of using military force to regulate oil exports, raising concerns about sovereignty and international maritime law.

The latest seizure underscores Washington’s growing role in Venezuela’s energy sector and adds to global scrutiny of the administration’s increasingly assertive foreign-policy posture in Latin America.