US pursuing third oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela

The US Coast Guard is pursuing a third oil tanker near Venezuela in the Caribbean sea, a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity said, adding that the ship was part of a Venezuelan shadow fleet used to evade sanctions.

The vessel, which was sailing in international waters near Venezuela, was reportedly sailing under a false flag and was subject to a judicial seizure order, the official briefed on the mission said.

The identification of the vessel currently remains unclear, and another official claimed the ship had not yet been boarded.

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced on Telegram the "campaign of aggression that goes from psychological terrorism to corsairs attacking oil tankers," adding “We are ready to accelerate the pace of our deep revolution!”

Following the previous seizure, Maduro vowed to not let it "go unpunished," and said it would file complaints with the UN Security Council.

The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the US Coast Guard, redirected questions about the operation to the White House, which has not yet commented.

If successful, the operation would be the second of its kind over the weekend and the third in less than two weeks. It is part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to crack down on sanctioned vessels linked to the Venezuelan government.

The US seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker called Centuries on Saturday, and a sanctioned tanker called the Skipper on December 10.

The reason for seizing the Centuries is less clear than the Skipper, which wasn’t flying a nation’s flag and was part of a shadow fleet moving sanctioned cargo. The White House similarly described Centuries as a "falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil".

However, maritime historian Dr Salvatore Mercogliano said shipping databases show the Centuries appeared legal. “Everything indicates that she is a properly registered vessel,” he said, though he added it likely carried sanctioned oil.

Last week, the Trump administration announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country, demanding the return of assets seized from US oil companies years ago.

"President Trump has been clear: the blockade of sanctioned oil tankers departing from, or bound for, Venezuela will remain in full force until Maduro’s criminal enterprise returns every stolen American asset," US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X.

US Homeland Security Advisor and close aide to Trump, Stephen Miller, has previously suggested Venezuela's oil belongs to Washington, and that the US "created the oil industry" due to its role in the early development of the sector. In 1976, Venezuela nationalised its oil industry and created the state-owned oil and natural gas company PDVSA to control its oil resources.

The US has also targeted vessels it says are smuggling fentanyl and other drugs, with at least 104 killed in 28 known strikes since September. The strikes have faced scrutiny from US lawmakers and human rights activists, and critics say evidence is lacking and deaths amount to extrajudicial killings.