U.S. military personnel boarded and secured a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to control the oil resources in the South American nation. The U.S. Southern Command confirmed in a social media update that the Motor Vessel Sagitta was detained “without incident” for operating against President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It was not specified if the U.S. Coast Guard was involved in seizing the tanker this time.
The Sagitta, registered in Liberia and owned by a Hong Kong-based company, was last tracked over two months ago as it exited the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The vessel had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under an executive order related to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
The Southern Command’s post suggested that the tanker had received oil from Venezuela. According to the command, the interception of the tanker “demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that only lawfully coordinated oil shipments leave Venezuela.”
Since the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise operation on January 3, the Trump administration has been focused on managing the production, refining, and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products. The administration aims to leverage the seized tankers to generate revenue for the reconstruction of Venezuela’s oil sector and its economic recovery.
President Trump recently met with oil company executives to discuss investing $100 billion US in Venezuela for enhancing its oil infrastructure. Trump mentioned that the U.S. had already extracted 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela and intended to sell between 30 million to 50 million additional barrels.
The initial tanker seizure occurred on December 10 off the Venezuelan coast, with subsequent captures mostly in the vicinity of Venezuela, except for the Bella 1, which was taken in the North Atlantic. The Bella 1 had altered its course towards Europe after cruising near the Caribbean, eventually being apprehended on January 8.
Following Maduro’s removal, the U.S. announced its administration over Venezuela for an unspecified duration. Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice-president under Maduro, assumed the interim presidency. She reported that Venezuela had received $300 million from oil sales through the supply deal with Caracas brokered by Trump.
Before Maduro’s ousting, the U.S. had intensified pressure on Caracas through military deployments, oil tanker seizures, and strikes on alleged drug boats off Venezuela’s coast. Speculation arose about a potential U.S. invasion of Venezuela due to the military build-up in the region.