U.S. Military Seizes Seventh Venezuela‑Linked Oil Tanker in Caribbean Enforcement Operation

TEHRAN (ANA)- U.S. military forces have captured a seventh oil tanker tied to Venezuela as part of Washington’s intensified efforts to enforce sanctions and assert control over the South American nation’s oil exports, officials said Tuesday.

News ID : 10522

The U.S. Southern Command announced that its forces boarded and took control of the Motor Vessel Sagitta in the Caribbean Sea without any reported incident, describing the move as part of a maritime blockade targeting vessels subject to U.S. sanctions.

According to the command, the tanker was operating in defiance of a U.S.‑declared quarantine on sanctioned ships, with military social media posts emphasizing that only legally coordinated oil shipments should leave Venezuela. Aerial footage of the vessel on the water was shared by the command, though details about subsequent steps for the tanker were not immediately released.

The Sagitta is a Liberian‑flagged vessel registered to a Hong Kong‑based company and was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury under executive orders linked to international sanctions. The seizure is the latest in a series of interdictions that Washington says are designed to enforce its economic penalties on Venezuela and limit unsanctioned oil exports.

The broader U.S. strategy in the region has included multiple tanker seizures since early December and reflects a wider push by the Trump administration to control Venezuelan oil resources, a policy that has included legal sanctions and heightened military oversight of maritime traffic.