U.S. Coast Guard Pursuing Third Oil Tanker Off Venezuela Coast After Saturday Seizure
The U.S. military seized a second oil tanker off Venezuela this weekend and is pursuing a third, escalating the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on the country’s oil-dependent economy.
The Coast Guard on Saturday intercepted and seized the Centuries, a tanker reportedly carrying Venezuelan oil for a Chinese trader.
Later that day U.S. forces attempted to board another vessel, the Bella 1, but the ship fled toward the Atlantic and has not been apprehended as of Monday afternoon.
The seizures of oil tankers in the Caribbean is the latest tactic in President Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
OVER THE WEEKEND
Hours after seizing the Centuries vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard apprehended the Bella 1, which has been under U.S. sanctions since last year for allegedly transporting oil to Iran that finances terrorist group Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.
NBC News is reporting that the vessel was "sanctioned under counterterrorism authority for its involvement in the network of Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal." Shadow fleet vessels usually do not operate exclusively for one country.
The U.S. says the Bella 1 was flying under a “false flag” — giving the impression it was a Panamanian ship. A senior administration said the Panama government gave the U.S. approval to board the ship under a decades-long alliance to crack down on sanctioned vessels.
The vessel then fled from the Caribbean and began broadcasting distress signals to nearby ships.
It comes after the U.S. seized another sanctioned tanker, the Skipper, earlier this month. The two seized vessels each reportedly carried nearly 2 million barrels of oil, which is believed to be worth roughly $95 million each.
Unlike the Skipper and Bella 1 vessels, the Centuries tanker seized Saturday is not on any sanctions lists.
"The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region," Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a video post of the Saturday seizure on X.
TRUMP’S PRESSURE CAMPAIGN
Trump has stated he is looking to implement a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers to cut off Venezuela's oil industry and push Maduro to step down.
Trump has accused Maduro of orchestrating illegal drug trafficking into the U.S., which the Venezuelan government denies. The military has also carried out strikes against dozens of alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean since September, resulting in more than 100 deaths.
The Venezuelan government has criticized the "theft and hijacking" of private vessels. Maduro has also ordered Venezuelan Navy vessels to accompany some oil tankers leaving his country, saying that Venezuela would continue to trade oil and that Trump’s "intention" is regime change.
New in: Meanwhile, Trump announced Monday evening that the Navy would begin producing two new “Trump Class” battleships, which he said would be the largest and most powerful in the world. He said the ships will be equipped with hypersonic missiles, nuclear-capable sea-launched cruise missiles, and high-powered laser systems — with the goal to acquire up to 25 of these vessels in the coming years.