The US has seized an oil tanker that recently left Venezuela, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.
It is the second time this month that an oil ship has been seized off the country’s coast.
The move comes after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was ordering a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela.
Venezuela has described the latest U.S. move as “theft and kidnapping.” She has previously accused the Trump administration of trying to steal her resources.
“These acts will not go unpunished,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement, adding that it planned to file a complaint with the UN Security Council and “other multilateral organizations and world governments.”
The operation was led by the US Coast Guard, similar to the operation earlier this month. The ship was boarded by a specialized tactical team and was in international waters at the time of takeover.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees the Coast Guard, shared a seven-minute video of the operation on X.
It shows US helicopters landing on the deck of a ship with the name “Centuries” written on the side.
It is a Panamanian-flagged ship that, according to BBC Verify records, has also sailed under the flags of Greece and Liberia in the past five years.
It is not on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of sanctioned ships, but in the hours after the announcement, the White House made clear that its cargo had been sanctioned.
“The tanker contained sanctioned PDVSA oil,” said a post from White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, referring to Venezuela’s state oil company.
The post said the tanker was “operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to transport stolen oil and finance the narco-terrorist Maduro regime.”
In recent weeks, the United States has expanded its military presence in the Caribbean and carried out deadly attacks on suspected Venezuelan drug smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.
No public evidence was presented that these ships were carrying drugs, and the military came under increasing congressional scrutiny over the attacks.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a designated terrorist organization called the Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.
Trump has accused Maduro’s government of using “stolen” oil for “self-financing, narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.”
After the seizure of the second ship, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted
“Violence, drugs and chaos will not dominate the Western Hemisphere.”
Venezuela – which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world – relies heavily on revenue from its oil exports to finance its government spending.
Trump’s announcement of a blockade came less than a week after the US seized an oil tanker believed to be part of the “ghost fleet” off the coast of Venezuela that allegedly used various strategies to conceal its work.
The Venezuelan government rejected the move, Maduro said The US “kidnapped” the crew and “stole” the ship.
