The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) on Tuesday announced the U.S. seized another oil tanker that stood in defiance of the Venezuelan oil blockade ordered by President Donald Trump.
The vessel, identified by SOUTHCOM as the Sagitta, was seized “without incident.”
In a social media post, SOUTHCOM detailed the seizure took place on Tuesday morning and is part of the Department of War’s unwavering mission to “crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere” in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department through Operation Southern Spear.
In December, President Trump ordered a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela as part of his administration’s pressure campaign on Venezuela’s now deposed socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The Sagitta stands as the seventh Venezuela-linked oil tanker seized by the United States since the start of the blockade. Last week, the United States seized the Veronica, which marked the sixth seized tanker. Like the Sagitta, the Veronica was seized “without incident.”
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SOUTHCOM explained the Sagitta tanker was operating in defiance of President Trump’s “quarantine” of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and demonstrates “our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”
“As the joint force operates in the Western Hemisphere, we reaffirm that the security of the American people is paramount, demonstrating our commitment to safety and stability,” SOUTHCOM wrote.
“These operations are backed by the full power our elite joint force team deployed in the Caribbean,” the post concluded.
SOUTHCOM accompanied the text with unclassified footage of the seizure operation.
On January 10, the U.S. Department of the Treasury identified the Sagitta as a Panama-flagged part of a broad “shadow fleet” of opaque traders of Russian oil, Russia-based oilfield service providers, and Russian energy officials.
On that day, the U.S. imposed sanctions on 183 vessels, including the Sagitta. The Treasury Department listed a company identified as Sunne Co Limited as the beneficiary owner of the Sagitta alongside nine other Panama-flagged oil tankers considered to be part of the same shadow fleet.
The independent tracking website tankertrackers.com detailed on a social media post that, according to its research, the Sagitta ended its three year long tenure in serving Russia’s exports “once she was slapped” with U.S. sanctions on January 10, and added that the vessel “exported fuel oil out of Venezuela in August 2025 under a zombie alias.”
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