Second oil tanker seized off Venezuelan coast by US

The United States has seized an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the ship, which recently departed from Venezuela, was seized. It is the second oil tanker the US has seized off the coast of Venezuela this month. The move comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has announced that he has ordered a ‘blockade’ or blockade against sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government has strongly protested the latest seizure. The country has described it as ‘theft and kidnapping’. Venezuela has long accused the US of trying to plunder its natural resources. In a statement, the Venezuelan government said that such actions will not go unpunished. It has also been reported that the matter will be raised with the UN Security Council and other multilateral organizations and various governments around the world.

A specialized tactical team participated in this operation led by the US Coast Guard. The ship was seized while it was in international waters. Earlier this month, a tanker was seized in a similar operation. US Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem released a video of the operation on social media X. She wrote that in the early hours of December 20, an oil tanker last anchored in Venezuela was seized with the assistance of the US Coast Guard and the Department of War.

The seven-minute video released shows a US helicopter landing on the deck of a ship named ‘Centuries’.

Noem said that the United States will continue to stop the illegal transportation of embargoed oil, which finances drug and terrorism in the region. We will find you and stop you.
The Panamanian-flagged Centuries has also sailed under the flags of Greece and Liberia in the past five years, according to documents obtained by BBC Verify. However, it is not on the US Treasury Department's list of sanctioned ships.

The US has increased its military presence in the Caribbean in recent weeks, with attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels killing nearly 100 people. The US has not publicly confirmed that the vessels were carrying drugs, raising questions in Congress about the US military's operation.

The US has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a declared terrorist organisation called the Cartel de los Soles, a charge he denies. The Trump administration claims the group finances crimes such as drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping by selling "stolen" oil.

After the seizure of the second ship, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in X that the US will continue its maritime operations to dismantle illegal criminal networks. He said that violence, drugs and chaos will not be allowed to continue in the Western Hemisphere. The Venezuelan government, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves, relies heavily on oil export revenues to finance its finances.

It should be noted that less than a week before Trump announced the 'blockade', the US seized another oil tanker, the 'Skipper', off the coast of Venezuela. The White House claims that the ship was part of the so-called 'Ghost Fleet' and used various tactics to transport oil illegally. The ship was said to be taken to a US port.

At that time, the Venezuelan government also reacted strongly. President Maduro accused the US of 'kidnapping' the sailors and 'stealing' the ship.