The US on Tuesday seized a seventh tanker carrying sanctioned oil off the coast of Venezuela.
The US is continuing to try to take control of Venezuela's ailing oil industry after the capture of the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro.
US Southern Command said in a post on X that American forces had boarded the MV Sagitta "without incident".
"The apprehension of another tanker operating in defiance of President [Donald] Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is co-ordinated properly and lawfully," the post said.
American forces off the coast of Venezuela began seizing tankers believed to be carrying oil that was under US sanctions. At the beginning of January, a Russian-flagged tanker was seized in the Atlantic Ocean. It was believed to have carried illegal cargo for a company claimed to be owned by Hezbollah.
Venezuela’s main source of revenue is crude exports, although its oil has long been under US sanctions. Exports started falling in the weeks before US forces captured Mr Maduro, as the shadowy companies that had been moving cargo to Asian markets retreated amid the heavy American naval presence and a string of tanker seizures.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump is continuing to try to convince US oil companies to invest in shoring up Venezuela's petroleum infrastructure, although industry leaders and analysts have cautioned that any significant boost would take years and tens of billions of dollars.
