Overview
- In a pre-dawn Dec. 20 operation in international waters, the U.S. Coast Guard led a boarding with military support, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released video of the takedown.
- The tanker, identified as the Panama-flagged Centuries, had last docked in Venezuela and was carrying Venezuelan crude, though early reports said it did not appear on U.S. sanctions lists.
- The move follows the Dec. 10 seizure of the sanctioned tanker Skipper and President Trump’s order of a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
- Venezuela denounced the seizure as piracy and vowed legal action at the U.N., while U.S. officials indicated they are tracking additional vessels near the country.
- Washington’s broader pressure campaign features a large naval deployment and lethal strikes on suspected drug boats that U.S. figures say have destroyed dozens of vessels and killed more than 100 people.