Since attacking Venezuela this month, the United States has moved to assert strict control over the production and sale of Venezuelan oil.
Published January 21, 2026
The US military has announced it has seized a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela, as the US tightens control over the production and sale of the country’s vast oil resources.
The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees military operations in Latin America, announced on Tuesday that it had seized the motor vessel Sagitta as part of a blockade against oil vessels traveling to and from the country.
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“Concerns that another tanker is operating in violation of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean demonstrate our determination to ensure that only properly and legally regulated oil leaves Venezuela,” Southcom said in a statement.
The paper added that Tuesday’s seizure of the tanker happened “without incident” and shared a video showing U.S. troops flying toward the tanker and landing on its deck.
The United States began seizing sanctions tankers on December 10 as part of increased pressure on Venezuela.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela peaked on January 3, when US President Donald Trump authorized a pre-dawn military operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Prior to the operation, President Trump and allies like Stephen Miller had been increasingly vocal about their claims to Venezuelan oil, given the country’s history of oil exploration in the early 20th century.
However, by 1971 Venezuela had nationalized its oil industry. Efforts in 2007 to seize assets from foreign oil companies drew further criticism from the Trump administration, which views Venezuelan oil as “stolen” from its American owners.
However, legal experts primarily consider such claims to be a violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty.
Nevertheless, President Trump has said the United States will control Venezuela’s oil and has used the threat of further military attacks to pressure the Venezuelan government into compliance.
The Trump administration also imposed harsh sanctions on Venezuela’s economy, part of a trend dating back to the Republican leader’s first term as president.
Although the United States frames tanker seizures as a means to enforce these sanctions, there is debate about the legality of using military force to enforce economic sanctions.
President Trump and his officials have said that sales of Venezuelan oil on global markets will be conducted at the direction of the United States, and that the proceeds will be deposited into U.S.-controlled bank accounts.
President Trump is also using his control of Venezuelan oil to ratchet up pressure on Cuba, for which access to oil is a critical economic lifeline.
The US president told reporters at a White House briefing on Tuesday that he had extracted 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.
“We have millions of barrels of oil left,” he said at the White House. “We’re selling it on the open market. We’re driving oil prices incredibly low.”
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez said that Venezuela received $300 million from recent oil sales. In her inaugural address last week, she indicated that her administration intends to reform the country’s hydrocarbon laws to further increase foreign investment in the future.
