United States Seizes Two Venezuela-Linked Oil Tankers

The U.S. European Command announced that U.S. military forces have seized a Venezuela-affiliated oil tanker in the North Atlantic and another tanker in the Caribbean due to "violations of U.S. sanctions." The agency stated in a message on social media platform X that the action against the ship "Bla 1" in the North Atlantic was carried out "based on a court order issued by a U.S. federal court and after the ship was tracked by the U.S. Coast Guard." Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War, wrote in a message about this on X that "the blockade of Venezuela's illegal and sanctioned oil remains fully in effect worldwide." Kirstjen Nielsen, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, also posted on X on Wednesday, January 7, stating: "The U.S. Coast Guard conducted two coordinated and precise inspections of two shadow fleet oil tankers in two different areas, one in the North Atlantic and the other in international waters near the Caribbean." She emphasized that both tankers - namely "Bla 1" and "Sophia" - had previously docked in Venezuela or were en route there. Ms. Nielsen described this operation as a manifestation of the "America First" policy and wrote: "Our message to the world's criminals is clear: you can run, but you cannot hide. We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and cut off the financial resources of drug terrorism." The U.S. European Command added that the seizure on Wednesday was in line with an order from Donald Trump, the President of the United States, to "combat sanctioned ships that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere." Last month, Trump issued an order for a complete blockade of all sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. In a separate operation that took place early Wednesday, the U.S. Southern Command announced that U.S. forces "detained an unflagged, sanctioned tanker belonging to the dark fleet without any specific incident." The statement noted: "The seized ship, 'Sophia,' was operating in international waters and was engaged in illegal activities in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. Coast Guard is escorting the 'Sophia' to the U.S. for final disposition." The United States had also seized two tankers off the coast of Venezuela last month. Rubio: We will not allow Venezuela to become a corridor for the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere. Donald Trump: The people of Venezuela are free; the U.S. will take control of Venezuela until a safe transition occurs. JD Vance: Maduro realized that Donald Trump is keeping his word. U.S.-Iran in 2025: The year of the return of "maximum pressure."