US military forces boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela on Tuesday, escalating the Trump administration’s effort to control the production, movement and sale of the South
American country’s oil.
US Southern Command said in a social media post that US forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta “without incident,” saying the tanker was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
Southern Command did not specify whether the US Coast Guard conducted the boarding, as it has in several previous seizures.
The Sagitta is a Liberian-flagged tanker, with its registration listing a Hong Kong-based company as both owner and manager.
The ship last transmitted its location more than two months ago while exiting the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.
According to US authorities, the tanker had taken on oil from Venezuela.
The vessel was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department under an executive order tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In its post, Southern Command said the capture of the tanker “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”
The military released aerial footage showing the Sagitta sailing at sea, though unlike previous operations, the video did not show helicopters approaching the ship or US personnel landing on its deck.
Through #OpSouthernSpear, the @DeptofWar is unwavering in its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere in partnership with @USCG, @DHSgov and @TheJusticeDept.
This morning, U.S. military forces, in support of the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended… pic.twitter.com/UPADtiw681
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) January 20, 2026
The latest seizure follows a series of similar operations carried out by US forces in recent weeks.
The Sagitta is the seventh sanctioned tanker seized as part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to control Venezuela’s oil industry, and one of several captured since the US ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid on January 3.
US officials have framed the tanker seizures as law enforcement actions aimed at enforcing sanctions.
At the same time, senior officials in Trump’s Republican administration have made clear they view the seizures as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil sector and restore its economy.
Trump has said he intends to invest $100 billion to repair and upgrade Venezuela’s oil production and distribution infrastructure.
He has also said the United States expects to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the US has already removed large quantities of oil from the country.
“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.”
The first tanker linked to Venezuela was seized off the country’s coast on December 10.
Most of the subsequent captures occurred in waters near Venezuela, though one vessel, the Bella 1, was seized in the North Atlantic after abruptly changing course toward Europe in mid-December.
