U.S. seizes sixth Venezuela-linked tanker as Trump prepares to meet opposition leader

Reuters reported the information.

U.S. officials confirmed that American forces apprehended the Guyana-flagged Aframax tanker Veronica in a pre-dawn operation described as proceeding "without incident." According to the U.S. military's Southern Command, the vessel was "operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean."

"The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully," Southern Command said in a statement.

The Veronica had departed empty from Venezuelan waters in early January, according to shipping documents from state company PDVSA and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com. Unlike other vessels that have returned to Venezuela in recent days, the Veronica remained in international waters.

The seizure campaign began following Trump's broader strategy to force former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, which culminated in U.S. forces entering the country to detain Maduro and his wife on January 3. Since then, Trump has announced plans for the U.S. to control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely while implementing a $100 billion reconstruction plan for the country's deteriorated oil industry.

The U.S. government has filed for court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to Venezuelan oil trade, four sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as Washington tightens its grip on oil shipments flowing in and out of the South American nation.

The intercepted vessels have either been under U.S. sanctions or part of a "shadow fleet" of ships that conceal their origins to transport oil from major sanctioned producers including Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. Maritime authorities from Panama, Cook Islands, and Guyana told Reuters that most Venezuela-linked vessels seized were flying fake flags or had their registrations cancelled before interception.

Last week, the U.S. seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was accompanied by a Russian submarine after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic—a move that drew condemnation from Moscow.

The latest seizure coincides with Thursday's meeting between Trump and Machado, marking their first face-to-face encounter since the U.S. removed her longtime adversary from power. Trump has previously called her a "freedom fighter" but rejected the notion of installing her as Venezuela's leader after Maduro's ouster, stating she lacked sufficient domestic support.

A classified CIA assessment presented to Trump concluded that Maduro loyalists were best positioned to maintain stability in the country.

• The Iranian cargo ship Rona suffered a serious accident and began sinking in the waters of the Caspian Sea.