In a significant escalation of pressure on the Nicolas Maduro regime, the United States has seized a second sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The pre-dawn military operation, confirmed by US officials, marks a bold step in Washington's campaign to choke off revenue streams it claims fund terrorism.
Pre-Dawn Raid on the High Seas
The operation unfolded in the early hours of Saturday, December 20. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the seizure via a social media post, revealing that the US Coast Guard executed the action with direct support from the Department of Defense. A dramatic seven-minute video released by Noem shows US helicopters landing on the deck of the vessel, identified as the oil tanker Centuries.
"In a pre-dawn action early this morning on December 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela," Noem stated. She emphasized that the tanker's last port of call was Venezuela, linking it directly to the sanctioned South American nation.
A Campaign to Stop "Illicit Oil" and "Narco Terrorism"
Justifying the high-seas interception, Secretary Noem framed it as part of a broader US strategy. "The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region," she declared. "We will find you, and we will stop you."
This incident is not an isolated one. It follows the seizure of another vessel, The Skipper, on December 10. In that operation, an elite Coast Guard tactical team, supported by US Navy helicopters, boarded and took control of the tanker, which was also sanctioned for its role in an illicit oil network involving Venezuela.
Venezuela's Fury and Trump's Threat of Total Blockade
The reaction from Caracas was swift and furious. Venezuelan officials condemned what they called the "theft and kidnapping" of the oil tanker. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez issued a stern warning, saying, "these acts will not go unpunished." She added that those responsible "will answer to justice and to history for their criminal conduct."
The tanker seizures come amid increasingly bellicose rhetoric from Washington. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full naval blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. In a lengthy social media post, Trump boasted, "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before."
President Maduro remains defiant, vowing that Venezuela will continue to trade its oil. He accused Trump of seeking regime change, a goal he said would never succeed. "This will just not happen, never, never, never -- Venezuela will never be a colony of anything or anyone, never," Maduro asserted.
The standoff underscores the deepening crisis, with the US employing military and economic tools to destabilize Maduro's government, while Venezuela aligns itself with allies and decries American aggression. The seizure of the Centuries signals that Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign is entering a more overtly confrontational phase on the open waters.
