The US says it “apprehended” an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, in a move Caracas has described as “theft and kidnapping”.
It is the second time in two weeks that the US has intercepted a tanker in the region, and comes days after US President Donald Trump announced a blockade of “sanctioned oil vessels” heading to and leaving Venezuela.
“In a predawn 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,” US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.
The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea.
Caracas called the operation 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 Panama-flagged Centuries and said it was “suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions”. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the tanker contained sanctioned oil.
“It was a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist Maduro regime,” she wrote on X.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned “the actions of the US against maritime security in the Caribbean region and the threat of using force against Venezuela as a blatant violation” of international law and the UN Charter.
In a phone call with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Eduardo Gil Pinto, Mr Araghchi expressed solidarity and support for the people and elected government of Venezuela, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Mr Trump on Tuesday ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, putting oil flowing out of South American country at risk.
It came after US troops seized a “very large” oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast last week as the Trump administration continues to put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his government.
The oil tanker, which had been under US sanctions for years, had been used to smuggle oil from Venezuela and Iran, US officials claimed.
Venezuela produces 1.1 million barrels of oil a day, with most of it flowing to China and India, according to Rystad Energy analysis.
The US has for months been building a major military force in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combating Latin American drug trafficking, but taking aim at Venezuela.
