The United States has intensified pressure on Venezuela by seizing a second oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, an action that has drawn a sharp rebuke from Brazil's President, who warned it risked a "humanitarian catastrophe".
Details of the Latest Tanker Seizure
On Saturday 20 December 2025, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed the operation on social media platform X. She stated the vessel had last docked in Venezuela and that the US would continue to pursue "the illicit movement of sanctioned oil" funding "narco terrorism".
Footage shared by Ms Noem showed a helicopter landing on the deck of the ship prior to the seizure. The vessel is believed to be the Panama-flagged Centuries, seized east of Barbados. A US official described the raid as a "consented boarding," with the tanker stopping voluntarily.
Notably, legal expert Jeremy Paner pointed out that the Centuries has not been sanctioned by the US, marking an escalation in tactics. The operation was led by the US Coast Guard with military helicopter support, following the seizure of the sanctioned tanker Skipper just last week.
Regional Condemnation and Escalating Rhetoric
The move prompted immediate condemnation from regional leaders. At a summit of the South American Mercosur bloc, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva issued a stark warning.
"Armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe," President Lula stated. He evoked the 1982 Falklands War, saying the continent was "once again haunted by the military presence of an extra-regional power," and called such action a "dangerous precedent for the world".
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has continued his aggressive rhetoric. He declared on Tuesday that "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," promising the shock "will be like nothing they have ever seen before". He also branded the Maduro regime "illegitimate" and a "foreign terrorist organisation".
Consequences and the 'Shadow Fleet'
The seizures are having a chilling effect on maritime traffic. Since the Skipper was taken, numerous vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil have remained in Venezuelan waters, fearing interception.
Data indicates more than 70 oil tankers in Venezuelan waters this week are part of a so-called "shadow fleet"—vessels using deceptive tactics to transport goods for sanctioned nations like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Approximately 38 of these are sanctioned by the US Treasury.
President Trump has linked his actions to accusations of drug trafficking by the Maduro government, authorising deadly strikes against alleged drug-running vessels. President Maduro, in turn, accuses the US of seeking to overthrow him to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
