The United States “apprehended” an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas described as “theft and kidnapping,” in the latest escalation of Washington’s pressure campaign, the US government said.
It was the second time in two weeks that US forces have intercepted a tanker in the region and comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of “sanctioned oil vessels” entering or leaving Venezuela.
“In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard, with the support of the Department of War, apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela,” US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.
The post was accompanied by nearly eight minutes of aerial footage showing a helicopter hovering above the deck of a large tanker at sea.
Caracas condemned the seizure as theft and kidnapping, saying “those responsible for these serious events will answer to justice and to history for their criminal conduct.”
Homeland Security identified the vessel as Centuries and said it was “suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions.”
Centuries is a Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged tanker, according to TankerTrackers, an online oil shipment monitoring service.
The platform said the tanker loaded 1.8 million barrels of crude oil at a Venezuelan port earlier this month before being escorted out of Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone on December 18. VesselFinder also listed the ship’s last recorded position as off the Venezuelan coast.
An AFP review found that Centuries does not appear on the US Treasury Department’s list of sanctioned companies and individuals.
White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the tanker “contained sanctioned PDVSA oil” and described it as “a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet.”
On December 10, US forces seized another tanker allegedly transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil to Iran.
The United States has expanded its military presence in the Caribbean in recent months, officially citing anti-drug operations but focusing heavily on Venezuela.
Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez dismissed US actions, saying, “We are waging a battle against lies, manipulation, interference, military threats, and psychological warfare.”
Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said Iran was offering Venezuela support “in all areas” to counter what he described as US “piracy and international terrorism.”
There are currently 11 US warships deployed in the Caribbean.
The seizure occurred as South American leaders met at a Mercosur summit, where tensions over Venezuela overshadowed trade discussions with the European Union.