Buckle up, folks—Uncle Sam just flexed some serious muscle off Venezuela’s coast, nabbing yet another oil tanker in a bold move against Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
According to The Hill, on Saturday, December 20, 2025, U.S. forces, spearheaded by the Coast Guard and backed by military might, seized the tanker “Centuries” in international waters, marking the second such operation this month as part of a ramped-up campaign to choke off sanctioned oil flows funding what the administration calls a criminal network.
This isn’t just a random bust; it’s a calculated strike in a broader strategy under President Trump’s directive to blockade sanctioned tankers moving in and out of Venezuela.
Data from Kpler, a real-time analytics provider, reveals the “Centuries” had been lurking off Venezuela’s coast since at least December 4, 2025, despite spoofed tracking signals suggesting it was parked near Curaçao since December 12.
Before its capture, the tanker loaded roughly 2 million barrels of crude at Venezuela’s Jose Oil Terminal, oil that U.S. officials claim falls under strict sanctions.
Imagery confirmed the vessel was in ballast during its time off the coast, a sneaky maneuver that didn’t fool the eagle-eyed U.S. forces who’ve been patrolling these waters.
Just days before this seizure, President Trump vowed a full-on blockade of these oil shipments, a promise that’s clearly not just hot air with the military presence in the U.S. Southern Command area beefed up by warships, jets, Marines, and surveillance aircraft.
Earlier in December 2025, the Coast Guard intercepted another tanker, the “Skipper,” hauling 1.8 million barrels of crude while falsely flying Guyana’s flag near Venezuela’s shores.
These operations aren’t mere photo ops—they’re aimed at cutting the financial arteries of Maduro’s government, potentially hampering its ability to import essentials like food or procure arms, according to experts cited by The Hill.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem didn’t mince words, declaring on social platform X, “The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region. We will find you, and we will stop you.”
That’s a gauntlet thrown down, and it’s hard not to nod along when you see the shadowy games these vessels play—spoofed signals and hidden cargo are straight out of a spy novel, not honest trade.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly echoed the sentiment on X, stating, “The tanker contained sanctioned PDVSA oil. It was a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist Maduro regime.”
Let’s zoom out—this isn’t just about oil; since September 2025, U.S. forces have been dismantling drug-trafficking operations across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, destroying boats and conducting over 25 strikes that took out at least 104 individuals labeled as “narco-terrorists” by the administration.
While some might wince at the body count, the goal of curbing narcotics and chaos in our hemisphere resonates with anyone tired of seeing drugs and violence spill over borders—it’s a messy fight, but ignoring it isn’t an option.