Jan. 21 (UPI) — The U.S. military has seized a seventh tanker transporting oil from Venezuela, as the Trump administration seeks to control the nation’s oil exports and revenue.
The tanker, identified as motor vessel Sagitta, was captured by U.S. military forces Tuesday morning, U.S. Southern Command said in a statement, saying the operation was conducted “without incident.”
The Sagitta is a U.S. sanctioned vessel, first blacklisted by the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and again on Jan. 10, in an attempt to cut off an important revenue source from the Kremlin.
According to the statement from U.S. Southern Command, the vessel was leaving Venezuela with Venezuelan oil, in “defiance of President [Donald] Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
The U.S. military seized its first tanker on Dec. 10 amid growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela.
A U.S. military buildup was underway in the Caribbean. On Dec. 16, Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers transiting to and from the South American country.
Tensions between the two exploded earlier this month, when the U.S. military detained Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a clandestine operation.
Trump and other U.S. officials have said that the United States intends to control the sale of Venezuelan oil on U.S. and global markets, and that the proceeds from those sales will initially be deposited in international bank accounts under the Trump administration’s control.
The funds will then be used to stabilize the Venezuelan economy, with decisions about their use to be made under U.S. oversight.
Earlier this month, Trump said Venezuela’s interim government will be giving the United States between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “high quality, sanctioned oil,” and that Venezuela was to use the funds from that deal to buy only American-made goods.
Trump on Tuesday told reporters that oil companies were getting ready to make “massive investments in Venezuela,” while stating that the United States has received 50 million barrels of oil from the South American country in the last four days.
“We’ve got millions of barrels of oil left,” he said. “We’re selling it on the open market. We’re bringing down oil prices incredibly.”