US intercepts tanker carrying Venezuelan crude in international waters

The United States has intercepted an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast in international waters, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Saturday, days after President Donald Trump announced what he called a “total blockade” of sanctioned tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. 

A Reuters report said the vessel, believed to be the Panama-flagged Centuries, was carrying about 1.8 million barrels of Venezuela’s Merey crude and was bound for China. 

The tanker had reportedly loaded in Venezuela under the false name “Crag” and was linked to what US officials described as a “shadow fleet” used to move sanctioned oil and generate funds for President Nicolás Maduro’s government. 

Caracas condemned the interception as a “serious act of international piracy”, accusing the United States of theft and hijacking and alleging the crew had been forcibly disappeared. 

Venezuela said it would report the incident to the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral bodies, as well as raise the matter with foreign governments. 

The operation marks the latest escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Maduro. In the days since US forces seized a sanctioned tanker off Venezuela last week, shipping activity has slowed sharply, with multiple loaded vessels reportedly remaining in Venezuelan waters rather than risk interception. 

Analysts have warned that a sustained disruption could push global oil prices higher if Venezuela’s exports — close to 1 million barrels per day — are curtailed for an extended period.

Trump’s pressure campaign has included a larger US military presence in the region and more than two dozen strikes on vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean near Venezuela, which have reportedly killed at least 100 people.

He has also suggested that US land strikes in Venezuela could begin soon, fuelling international concern that the confrontation may widen further.