VIDEO The United States intercepted an oil tanker near Venezuela / “We will find you and stop you”

The United States has intercepted an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Saturday. The action comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” against all sanctioned oil tankers coming and going from Venezuela, Reuters notes.

It is the second time in recent weeks that the United States has taken action against an oil tanker near Venezuela, all amid a major US military buildup in the region.

Noem confirmed that the Coast Guard intercepted an oil tanker that last docked in Venezuela.

“The United States will continue to pursue illegal shipments of sanctioned oil that are used to finance narco-terrorism in the region,” she said in a social media post. “We will find you and stop you,” she added.

In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.

The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund… pic.twitter.com/nSZ4mi6axc

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 20, 2025

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the tanker was carrying oil under sanctions.

“It was a false flag vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and finance the narco-terrorist Maduro regime,” she wrote on X.

Venezuela's reaction: “A serious act of international piracy”

The Venezuelan government described the interception of the oil tanker as “a serious act of international piracy”.

Venezuela “denounces and rejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel carrying oil, as well as the enforced disappearance of its crew, committed by United States military personnel in international waters,” the statement said.

Caracas said the actions would be reported to the United Nations Security Council, other multilateral organizations and governments.

British maritime risk management company Vanguard said it was believed to be the Panamanian-flagged Centuries, which was intercepted east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea.

Jeremy Paner, a partner at the law firm Hughes Hubbard in Washington, DC and a former OFAC investigator, said the ship was not under US sanctions.

“The seizure of a vessel that is not sanctioned by the US marks an intensification of Trump's pressure on Venezuela. It also contradicts Trump's statement that the US will impose a blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers,” Paner said.