US Prepared To Seize Dozens More Venezuela-linked Tankers

They are either under sanctions or part of the Russian Federation's "shadow fleet".

U.S. authorities have applied to U.S. courts for arrest warrants for dozens of tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, knowledgeable sources told Reuters. The exact number of appeals, as well as how many of them have been granted, is unknown, they said. The U.S. government has also previously gone to courts, mostly in Washington, D.C., to seek forfeiture authorizations and then seized oil tankers.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Armed Forces and Coast Guard have detained five vessels carrying oil from Venezuela in international waters. The intercepted tankers were either under U.S. sanctions or part of a "shadow fleet" of unregulated vessels that disguise their origin to carry oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Washington, as Reuters' sources note, is targeting both the seizure of such vessels and the confiscation of their cargoes, although U.S. law enforcement officials have previously only seized oil cargo.

In mid-December 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a blockade on all sanctioned tankers bound for Venezuela. Following the capture of the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3, the White House chief said Venezuela's interim authorities would hand over 30 to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to Washington to be sold at market price. Trump noted that he would personally oversee further operations with the proceeds of the sale to be used "in the interests of the people of Venezuela and the United States." At the same time, he said, the blockade against sanctioned tankers remains in place.

Only vessels approved by the United States can leave Venezuela, White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt clarified. "We will continue to seize vessels with no government affiliation or those that have not received trade authorization," she explained.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also emphasized that the military, in conjunction with other U.S. agencies and services, "will track down and intercept all shadow fleet vessels carrying Venezuelan oil."

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