U.S. military forces on Tuesday boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s drive to assert control over the South American country’s oil sector.
U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post that American forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta without incident, saying the tanker was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s declared quarantine on sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.
The command did not specify whether the U.S. Coast Guard carried out the operation, as in previous seizures. The Pentagon and Southern Command said they had no additional details.
The Sagitta, a Liberian-flagged tanker, is registered to a Hong Kong-based company. The vessel last transmitted its location more than two months ago after leaving the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under an executive order tied to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Southern Command said the tanker had taken oil from Venezuela, adding that the seizure “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”
The command released aerial footage showing the Sagitta at sea, though unlike earlier operations the video did not show U.S. helicopters approaching or troops boarding the vessel.
Since the U.S.-led ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise overnight raid on Jan 3, the Trump administration has moved to take control of Venezuela’s oil production, refining and global distribution. Administration officials have said seizing tankers is part of an effort to generate revenue to rebuild the country’s battered oil industry and revive its economy.
Trump met oil industry executives nearly two weeks ago to discuss plans to invest $100 billion in Venezuela’s energy sector and said the United States expects to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. has already taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela. “We’ve got millions of barrels of oil left,” he said. “We’re selling it on the open market. We’re bringing down oil prices incredibly.”
The first tanker was seized off Venezuela’s coast on Dec 10. Most of the others were captured in nearby waters, except for the Bella 1, which was intercepted in the North Atlantic after abruptly turning back toward Europe on Dec 15 and was seized on Jan 7.