{"id":107877,"date":"2025-12-21T09:32:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=107877"},"modified":"2025-12-21T09:32:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:32:28","slug":"us-seizes-second-oil-tanker-off-venezuelas-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=107877","title":{"rendered":"US seizes second oil tanker off Venezuela\u2019s coast"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The US has seized an oil tanker that had recently departed from Venezuela, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n

It is the second time this month that the US has seized an oil-carrying ship off the country\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

The move comes after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was ordering a \u201cblockade\u201d of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Venezuela has condemned the latest US seizure, describing it as \u201ctheft and kidnapping\u201d. Venezuela has previously accused the US of trying to steal its resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese acts will not go unpunished,\u201d a statement from the Venezuelan government said, adding that it intends to file a complaint with the UN Security Council and \u201cother multilateral agencies and the governments of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

The operation was led by the US Coast Guard, similar to the operation earlier this month. The ship was boarded by a specialised tactical team, and was in international waters when it was taken.<\/p>\n

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees the Coast Guard, shared a video of the operation on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela,\u201d Noem wrote.<\/p>\n

She posted a seven-minute video of the operation, which shows US helicopters landing on the deck of a ship with the name Centuries written on the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,\u201d Noem wrote, adding: \u201cWe will find you, and we will stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Centuries is a Panamanian-flagged ship, but in the past five years it has also sailed under the flags of Greece and Liberia, according to records seen by BBC Verify.<\/p>\n

It is not on the US Treasury\u2019s list of sanctioned vessels.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the US has been building up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.<\/p>\n

The US has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.<\/p>\n

The US has accused Venezuela President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of leading a designated-terrorist organisation called Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration accuses him and the group of using \u201cstolen\u201d oil to \u201cfinance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following the seizure of the second ship, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the US will continue to \u201cunflinchingly conduct maritime interdiction operations\u2026 to dismantle illicit criminal networks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cViolence, drugs, and chaos will not control the Western Hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Venezuela \u2013 which is home to the world\u2019s largest proven oil reserves \u2013 is highly dependent on revenues from its oil exports to finance its government spending.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s announcement of a \u201cblockade\u201d came less than a week after the US seized an oil tanker believed to be part of the \u201cghost fleet\u201d off the coast of Venezuela, which allegedly used various strategies to conceal its work.<\/p>\n

The White House said the vessel in question, called the Skipper, had been involved in \u201cillicit oil shipping\u201d and would be taken to a US port.<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s government decried the move, with Maduro saying\u00a0the US \u201ckidnapped the crew\u201d and \u201cstole\u201d the ship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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