US Intercepts Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela After Trump Announces Blockade on Sanctioned Vessels

The United States has intercepted an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, according to confirmation by US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The move comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade targeting all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, signaling a tougher enforcement stance against what Washington describes as illicit oil trade linked to the Maduro government.

This marks the second interception of a tanker near Venezuela in recent weeks amid an expanded US military presence in the region. Secretary Noem stated that the US Coast Guard stopped a vessel that had recently docked in Venezuela, stressing that Washington would continue to target the illegal transport of sanctioned oil, which it claims is used to finance narcoterrorism activities.

Earlier, three US officials told Reuters that the tanker had been intercepted, while the Coast Guard and the Pentagon referred further inquiries to the White House. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the vessel was carrying sanctioned oil and accused it of operating under a false flag as part of Venezuela’s so-called shadow fleet. She alleged the oil was being trafficked to support the Maduro government.

Venezuela’s oil ministry and state-owned company PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, the Venezuelan government strongly condemned the interception, calling it a serious act of international piracy. In an official statement, Caracas accused US military personnel of hijacking a private oil vessel and forcibly disappearing its crew while the ship was in international waters.

Venezuela said it would raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council and other international and multilateral forums. British maritime risk management firm Vanguard identified the intercepted ship as the Panama-flagged tanker Centuries, which was reportedly stopped east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. Meanwhile, Jeremy Paner, a former investigator with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and now a partner at a Washington-based law firm, said the vessel itself is not currently listed under US sanctions.