By Anietie Anii-Bassey
U.S. military forces on Tuesday boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker tied to Venezuela, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign to assert control over the South American nation’s oil exports.
U.S. Southern Command said American forces apprehended the vessel, the Motor Vessel Sagitta, without resistance while it was operating in the Caribbean.
In a statement posted on social media, the command said the tanker was acting in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels,” a policy aimed at restricting the movement of ships linked to Venezuelan oil shipments.
Military officials did not immediately clarify which branch of the U.S. armed forces carried out the operation or whether the U.S. Coast Guard assumed custody of the vessel, as it has in previous tanker seizures. The Pentagon did not respond to requests for additional details.
The Sagitta is registered under a Liberian flag and is listed as being owned and managed by a company based in Hong Kong, according to maritime registration records.
The tanker had not publicly transmitted its location for more than two months, with its last known signal recorded as it exited the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.
The vessel has been under U.S. sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department pursuant to an executive order issued after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
While the sanctions were not directly tied to Venezuela, U.S. Southern Command said intelligence indicated the tanker had taken on oil originating from the country.
In its statement, the command said the seizure of the Sagitta “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully,” reinforcing the administration’s position that unauthorized shipments will be intercepted.
The military also released what appeared to be aerial footage showing the tanker underway at sea. Unlike earlier videos released after similar seizures, the footage did not show U.S. helicopters approaching the ship or troops landing on its deck, leaving the precise method of the boarding unclear.
The action follows a series of recent interceptions as the U.S. expands its maritime presence near Venezuela. The seizures have been accompanied by the deployment of an unusually large U.S. military force in the region, a move that has drawn close attention from regional governments and energy markets.
President Trump addressed the campaign just hours before the latest seizure was announced, claiming the United States has already removed vast quantities of oil from Venezuela.
“We’ve taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela already,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’ve got millions of barrels of oil left. We’re selling it on the open market, and we’re bringing down oil prices incredibly.”
The administration has framed the operations as both a national security measure and an economic strategy, arguing that restricting Venezuela’s oil exports weakens its government while boosting global supply.
Critics, however, have questioned the legal and geopolitical implications of the seizures, warning they could further destabilize the region and provoke international disputes.
As U.S. forces continue to intercept tankers linked to Venezuelan crude, it remains unclear how long the campaign will last or how other nations with shipping and commercial ties to Venezuela will respond.
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