The U.S. Coast Guard was engaged Sunday in an active pursuit of a sanctioned oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to disrupt what it describes as Venezuela’s illicit oil trade.
According to U.S. officials, the vessel is part of a so-called “dark” or shadow fleet used to evade international sanctions tied to the Venezuelan government. Officials said the ship was operating under a false flag and is subject to a judicial seizure order. One official said that “the United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion. It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.”
The tanker being pursued has been identified as Bella 1, a vessel placed under U.S. sanctions in June 2024. Officials say it was sailing toward Venezuela to load oil and has links to Iranian oil networks, placing it under counterterrorism sanctions connected to a broader financial network used by sanctioned actors. When Coast Guard personnel attempted to board the ship, the vessel failed to comply and continued sailing, triggering the ongoing chase, officials said. The operation, first reported by Reuters, is the second interdiction effort in as many days and the third targeting a tanker near Venezuela in less than a week.
The pursuit follows a pre-dawn operation Saturday in which the Coast Guard, with support from the Defense Department, seized the Panama-flagged tanker Centuries in international waters. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly described that ship as “a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist Maduro regime.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees the Coast Guard, shared video of the operation and said the tanker had last docked in Venezuela. “The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” she said.
Earlier this month, U.S. authorities also seized another sanctioned tanker, the Skipper, which officials said had ties to Iran. If the Bella 1 is intercepted, it would become the third vessel stopped by U.S. forces in the Caribbean during the current enforcement push.
President Trump last week called for a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, part of a broader pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro. The tanker seizures come amid heightened tensions, with the administration also ordering strikes against vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that it alleges are smuggling fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the United States. U.S. officials say more than 100 people have been killed in those operations since early September.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, though production remains far below capacity due to years of sanctions. While most of its oil exports now flow to China, U.S. officials have said recent seized shipments were bound for Asia.
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