In a stealth operation carried out before dawn on Dec. 20, the U.S. Coast Guard—working alongside the Department of War—seized an oil tanker last seen in the terrorist state of Venezuela. The United States accused the ship’s operators of moving sanctioned crude to fuel narco‑terror activity. Officials issued a stark warning to traffickers: “We will find you, and we will stop you.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem released a video on social media showing a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter landing on the deck of an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump declared the government of Venezuela to be a Foreign Terrorist Organization and ordered the complete naval blockade of the country.
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” Noem posted on X. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”
DHS called the seizure a “lightning strike operation to seize the Motor Tanker Centuries. Officials stated the ship was carrying oil subject to U.S. sanctions.
U.S. and Venezuelan officials report that the seizure of the Panamanian-flagged “Centuries” tanker took place in international waters near the coast of Venezuela. The ship was reportedly bound for Asia, possibly China, reports indicate.
NBC News reported on the Venezuelan reaction, writing:
Venezuela’s minister of the interior, Diosdado Cabello, condemned the operation in a Saturday post on Instagram.
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and rejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel transporting Venezuelan oil, as well as the forced disappearance of its crew, committed by military personnel of the United States of America in international waters,” Cabello said.
In a post on social media, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth added to the U.S. actions, writing, “President Trump has been clear: the blockade of sanctioned oil tankers departing from, or bound for, Venezuela will remain in full force until Maduro’s criminal enterprise returns every stolen American asset.”
Earlier this month, Breitbart’s John Hayward reported that the Trump administration ordered the seizure of another tanker carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil. This vessel was reportedly headed to Cuba.
In a speech where he did not directly respond to the tanker’s seizure, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said, in a speech, that the Venezuelan military is “prepared to break the teeth of teh North American empire, if necessary.”
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
