U.S. military forces have executed another maritime interception operation, taking control of a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday. The vessel, identified as Motor Vessel Sagitta, was apprehended without incident according to U.S. Southern Command, marking the seventh such seizure in the ongoing enforcement of sanctions against Venezuela’s oil exports.
The operation forms part of the Trump administration’s comprehensive strategy to restrict Venezuela’s oil trade, with officials claiming the Sagitta had loaded petroleum from Venezuelan sources in defiance of established sanctions. Although registered under Liberian flag status with ownership and management ties to a Hong Kong-based company, the tanker had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under executive orders related to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Unlike previous interdiction operations documented through dramatic aerial footage showing helicopter deployments and deck landings, this seizure was announced through social media channels with minimal operational details. The military command’s statement emphasized the enforcement of President Trump’s ‘established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,’ though specific details regarding the participating forces were withheld.
The vessel’s last transmitted location was recorded over two months ago while exiting the Baltic Sea in northern Europe, raising questions about its routing and cargo origins. The Pentagon declined to provide immediate additional details when queried about the operational specifics.
President Trump addressed reporters at the White House just hours before the announcement, claiming the administration had already diverted approximately 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to open markets. ‘We’ve got millions of barrels of oil left,’ Trump stated. ‘We’re selling it on the open market. We’re bringing down oil prices incredibly.’
The continued seizures demonstrate the administration’s persistent approach to applying maximum economic pressure on Venezuela’s oil sector, which represents the country’s primary revenue source.