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The United States has seized different Venezuela-linked tanker, U.S. officials told Reuters connected Thursday (January 15, 2026), up of a gathering betwixt U.S. President Donald Trump and Venezuelan absorption person Maria Corina Machado.
The seizure marks the sixth vas targeted successful caller weeks that was either carrying Venezuelan lipid oregon had done truthful successful the past. The officials, speaking connected the information of anonymity, said the seizure took spot successful the Caribbean.
The U.S. military's Southern Command confirmed the pre-dawn operation, saying U.S. forces apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica "without incident". It said the Veronica was "operating successful defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels successful the Caribbean."
"The lone lipid leaving Venezuela volition beryllium lipid that is coordinated properly and lawfully," Southern Command said successful a statement.
The seizures began arsenic portion of Trump's run to unit Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro retired of power, which culminated successful U.S. forces swooping into the country to “capture” him and his woman connected January 3, 2026.
Since then, Mr. Trump has said the United States plans to power Venezuela's lipid resources indefinitely as it seeks to rebuild the country's dilapidated lipid industry.
The vessels intercepted truthful acold person been either nether U.S. sanctions oregon part of a "shadow fleet" of unregulated ships that disguise their origins to determination lipid from large sanctioned producers - Iran, Russia oregon Venezuela.
Last week, the U.S. seized a Russian-flagged lipid tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine aft pursuing it for much than 2 weeks crossed the Atlantic. The determination was condemned by Moscow.
The latest seizure came up of Thursday's (January 15, 2026) gathering betwixt Mr. Trump and Ms. Machado, successful their archetypal face-to-face gathering since the U.S. ousted her long-time foe, Mr. Maduro.
Mr. Trump has antecedently called her a "freedom fighter" but dismissed the thought of installing her to pb Venezuela aft ousting Mr. Maduro, saying she did not person capable home support.
A classified CIA appraisal presented to Mr. Trump concluded that Mr. Maduro loyalists, including Ms. Rodriguez, were champion positioned to support stability.
