The United States has seized a sixth Venezuela-linked tanker in the Caribbean, hours before President Donald Trump’s meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, U.S. officials told Reuters.
U.S. officials said on Thursday that the latest vessel taken into custody is the Guyana-flagged Aframax tanker Veronica, marking the sixth ship targeted since mid-December.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the seizure occurred in the Caribbean and forms part of a wider campaign against vessels tied to Venezuela's oil trade.
U.S. Southern Command confirmed the pre-dawn operation, saying forces apprehended the Motor/Tanker Veronica without incident.
Its statement said the vessel had been operating in defiance of President Trump’s quarantine on sanctioned ships in the Caribbean. It added that the only oil permitted to leave Venezuela would be shipments coordinated lawfully under U.S. oversight.
Shipping documents from PDVSA and data from TankerTrackers.com show the Veronica departed Venezuelan waters empty in early January.
Unlike several other tankers that recently returned to Venezuelan ports, the vessel remained outside the country before being intercepted.
Washington’s targeting of vessels expanded sharply after Trump ordered operations to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, culminating in U.S. forces detaining Maduro and his wife on 3 January.
Trump has since said the United States intends to control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely as part of a $100 billion reconstruction plan for the sector.
Sources familiar with U.S. legal filings said Washington has already submitted requests to seize dozens more tankers tied to shipments from Venezuela, Iran and Russia, including vessels identified as part of a shadow fleet that obscures its origin and ownership.
Maritime authorities in Panama, Cook Islands and Guyana have reported ships operating under false flags or registrations cancelled before interception.
Last week, U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged tanker that had been shadowed by a Russian submarine across the Atlantic, prompting condemnation from Moscow.
Thursday’s operation came shortly before Trump’s scheduled meeting with Maria Corina Machado, their first since the U.S. removed Maduro from power.
Trump has previously described her as a freedom fighter but questioned her domestic support. A classified CIA assessment presented to the president concluded that Maduro loyalists, including senior figure Rodriguez, were currently best positioned to maintain stability in Venezuela.
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