Overview
- U.S. officials said Coast Guard personnel boarded and seized a tanker in international waters on December 20 with military support, and video released by Homeland Security shows helicopters landing on a vessel labeled Centuries.
- The White House said the ship carried sanctioned PDVSA crude and was part of a falsely flagged shadow fleet, while multiple reports noted the vessel itself did not appear on public U.S. sanctions lists.
- Venezuela condemned the action as piracy and theft, alleged the crew’s enforced disappearance, and vowed to pursue complaints at the United Nations and other forums.
- The latest interdiction follows the December 10 seizure of the Skipper and comes within a wider U.S. campaign that has included a major regional military buildup and lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats.
- Reports on December 21 indicated U.S. forces intercepted yet another vessel near Venezuela, though details remained unconfirmed as tanker traffic slowed and legal and congressional scrutiny of the blockade intensified.