Overview
- U.S. officials say the Coast Guard, with military support, intercepted and seized a tanker on Dec. 20 in international waters near Venezuela, the second such action in two weeks after the Dec. 10 seizure of the Skipper.
- Homeland Security released video showing a helicopter boarding of a vessel labeled Centuries; reporting indicates the tanker flew a Panamanian flag and carried Venezuelan crude, though its sanction status remains unclear and one official described the boarding as consented.
- President Donald Trump on Dec. 16 ordered a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers moving to and from Venezuela and designated the Maduro government a terrorist organization.
- Ship-tracking and industry reports point to loaded tankers loitering or rerouting, a sharp drop in Venezuelan crude exports, and a shadow fleet presence, as Washington expands sanctions on vessels, firms and Maduro-linked figures.
- Caracas denounced the seizures as illegal piracy and threatened legal action, while international law concerns over a blockade and a large U.S. regional military buildup have drawn growing diplomatic and congressional scrutiny.