US military forces have seized a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela, as the administration of President Donald Trump continues efforts to enforce sanctions and restrict oil shipments connected to the South American country.
The US Southern Command announced on social media that American forces boarded and took control of the tanker Sagitta without incident, stating that the vessel was operating in violation of a US-imposed “quarantine” on sanctioned ships in the Caribbean, according to the Associated Press.
The military command did not specify whether the operation was carried out by the US Coast Guard, as in previous cases involving sanctioned vessels. The Pentagon has not immediately responded to requests for further details.
The Sagitta is a Liberia-flagged oil tanker, officially registered as owned and managed by a Hong Kong–based company. According to tracking data, the vessel last transmitted its location more than two months ago, when it was departing from the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.
The tanker had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department under an executive order related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, the statement from US Southern Command indicated that the vessel had recently loaded oil from Venezuela, placing it in violation of US sanctions.
The seizure marks another escalation in Washington’s enforcement actions against vessels suspected of supporting sanctioned oil trade linked to Venezuela.
