US officials on Sunday confirmed that authorities are pursuing a third oil tanker linked to Venezuela after Washington imposed fresh sanctions on Caracas. The development follows confirmation by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem that another such vessel was intercepted over the weekend.
According to a Reuters report, officials said this could mark the third interception attempt within a fortnight of the sanctions taking effect, if the operation succeeds.
The “active pursuit” was also confirmed by a US official cited by Agence France-Presse, who said the United States Coast Guard was chasing a sanctioned “dark fleet” tanker allegedly involved in Venezuela’s sanctions evasion. The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and was already subject to a judicial seizure order.
On December 16, US President Donald Trump announced what he described as a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, accusing Caracas of profiting from stolen US assets. To enforce the move, Washington deployed a significant naval presence in the Caribbean, officially framed as an anti-narcotics operation. Venezuela, however, has denounced the action as pressure tactics aimed at weakening President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Sharing footage of the latest operation, Noem posted a video showing US forces rappelling from a helicopter onto a tanker’s deck, underlining Washington’s resolve to crack down on what it calls “illicit movement of sanctioned oil.” She said the pre-dawn operation on December 20 led to the apprehension of an oil tanker that had last docked in Venezuela, with support from the US defence establishment.
Earlier, on December 10, armed US agents had intercepted and seized control of the tanker Skipper, which was carrying Venezuelan crude under a false flag and was already under US sanctions for previous shipments of Iranian oil.
