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U.S. seizes a second vessel off the coast of Venezuela

By
Eleanor Watson
CBS News Reporter
Eleanor Watson is a CBS News multi-platform reporter and producer covering the Pentagon.
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Eleanor Watson,
Lucia I Suarez Sang
Associate Managing Editor
Lucia Suarez Sang is an associate managing editor at CBSNews.com. Previously, Lucia was the director of digital content at FOX61 News in Connecticut and has previously written for outlets including FoxNews.com, Fox News Latino and the Rutland Herald.
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Lucia I Suarez Sang,
Nicole Sganga
Nicole Sganga
Homeland Security and Justice Correspondent
Nicole Sganga is CBS News' homeland security and justice correspondent. She is based in Washington, D.C., and reports for all shows and platforms.
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Nicole Sganga

/ CBS News

The U.S. seized a second vessel in international waters, authorities announced, days after President Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem shared a video of the seizure  on Saturday. The video shows helicopters surrounding the vessel.

"In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela," she wrote in the post. "The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region. We will find you, and we will stop you. Thank you to our brave men and women of the  and ."

It's the second time in recent weeks that the United States has interdicted a tanker, and it comes amid a large U.S. military build-up in Latin America.

A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that the interdiction of a sanctioned vessel off Venezuela followed a similar playbook as the earlier U.S. seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuela, suggesting this is not an isolated action but part of a broader, ongoing enforcement campaign.

The Venezuelan government later confirmed the vessel seized Saturday was a private ship that transported Venezuelan oil, calling the action of the U.S. "theft and kidnapping."

It added that "these acts will not go unpunished," and that Venezuela "will exercise all corresponding actions, including the complaint to the United Nations Security Council, other multilateral agencies and the governments of the world." 

The operation was led by the U.S. Coast Guard, with the right-of-visit boarding conducted by a specialized tactical team. The operation involved multiple federal entities, including the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Coast Guard has declined to comment to CBS News, deferring to the White House. 

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump called for a "total and complete blockade" on all sanctioned oil tankers that enter or depart Venezuela. It is part of the ongoing pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The Maduro government called last week's boat seizure "robbery" and "piracy." In a statement late Tuesday, Venezuela called the blockade a "grotesque threat" and a violation of international law, and accused the Trump administration of seeking to "appropriate the oil, land and minerals of the country through gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulations."

The operation on Saturday comes days after the U.S. military seized a sanctioned 20-year-old oil tanker that had just left port in Venezuela last week, sources told CBS News. Armed personnel approached in helicopters and boarded the vessel, which was  for its alleged role in an oil smuggling network that helped fund the Iranian military and its proxies in the region. 

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