US Military Executes Sixth Seizure of Venezuela-Linked Oil Tanker

Thu Jan 15 2026 22:01:44 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a bold operation, US forces capture the Veronica, a tanker connected to Venezuela, amid heightened tensions and enforcement of sanctions on oil exports.

The US has successfully seized its sixth oil tanker linked to Venezuela in a predawn operation in the Caribbean. The tanker, named Veronica, was captured while defying a presidential quarantine aimed at regulating Venezuelan oil exports. With this move, the US continues its aggressive strategies to control oil operations and bolster its influence in the region amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.

The US has seized a sixth tanker in the Caribbean Sea in its ongoing efforts to control exports of Venezuelan oil, officials say.

The vessel, Veronica, was boarded in a predawn operation without incident as it was defying President Donald Trump's quarantine of sanctioned vessels, said the US military.

The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully, the Southern Command stated.

Since the US military strikes on Venezuela and seizure of its president Nicolás Maduro this month, Trump has indicated plans to tap into the country's vast oil reserves.

The Veronica is the latest tanker operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean, US Southern Command remarked on social media.

A video was also released showing Marines and sailors boarding the tanker.

Veronica, which sails under a Guyanese flag, had departed empty from Venezuelan waters in early January, according to tracking service TankerTrackers.com. The International Maritime Organization's database reveals the vessel was previously registered in Russia under different names.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the operation as being carried out with close coordination with our colleagues in the military and relevant departments, adding, Our heroic Coast Guard men and women once again ensured a flawlessly executed operation, in accordance with international law. This indicates that Washington's crackdown on the so-called dark fleet, consisting of over 1,000 vessels that transport sanctioned oil, will persist as the US collaborates with Venezuela's interim government to manage oil sales.

Furthermore, this seizure follows a US official's announcement of the first completed sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500m. Trump has solicited oil executives to invest $100bn in Venezuela's energy infrastructure while emphasizing that significant reforms are required to attract such investments.

The latest tanker seizure occurred just hours before a meeting between Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whom he has referred to as a freedom fighter, yet he has dismissed the idea of appointing her as the leader of a post-Maduro Venezuela, citing her lack of domestic support.