The U.S. military seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, U.S. Southern Command announced. (U.S. Southern Command)
The U.S. military seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday morning, U.S. Southern Command announced.
The vessel was apprehended without incident, and the ship was “operating in defiance of President [Donald] Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X.
“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,” the post stated.
The apprehension of the Motor Vessel Sagitta is the seventh sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, when speaking previously to reporters at the White House this month, declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.
