Video shows U.S. Coast Guard SEIZING a Venezuelan oil tanker

The U.S. Coast Guard launched a significant maritime offensive known as Operation Southern Spear, resulting in the seizure of multiple oil tankers associated with the Venezuelan government.

Acting under a "total and complete blockade" ordered by the Trump administration, U.S. forces have been tasked with intercepting vessels suspected of transporting "blood oil" to fund the Nicolás Maduro regime. The operation aims to dismantle what the White House describes as an illicit criminal network involving sanctioned oil exports.

One of the primary seizures occurred on December 10, 2025, when the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the tanker Skipper in the Caribbean Sea. The vessel was reportedly flying a false flag and was linked to a shipping network involving the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. Following the boarding, the tanker was diverted to a port in Galveston, Texas.

A second vessel, the Panama-flagged Centuries, was seized on December 20 near Barbados shortly after loading crude oil in Venezuela. U.S. officials labeled the ship part of a "shadow fleet" used to evade international sanctions.

The situation escalated further on December 21, 2025, as the U.S. Coast Guard entered an active pursuit of a third tanker, the Bella 1. After refusing a boarding request, the vessel fled into the Atlantic Ocean and began broadcasting distress signals.

This aggressive enforcement strategy has drawn sharp condemnation from the Venezuelan government, which has labeled the seizures as "acts of international piracy" and "hijacking."

President Maduro has since ordered the Venezuelan Navy to begin escorting oil shipments, raising the risk of direct military confrontation in the region.