Venezuelan oil exports have declined sharply following a U.S. seizure of a tanker and the imposition of new sanctions on shipping companies and vessels doing business with Caracas, according to shipping data and maritime sources.
U.S. Tanker Seizure and Sanctions
The U.S. seizure of the Skipper tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday marked the first U.S. capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019, escalating tensions between the U.S. and the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Since the seizure, only tankers chartered by U.S. oil company Chevron have sailed into international waters carrying Venezuelan crude. Chevron has U.S. government authorization to operate through joint ventures in the country and export its oil to the U.S.
Approximately 11 million barrels of oil and fuel are currently stuck in Venezuelan waters on other tankers, sources and data indicate.
The U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, stated the Skipper was intercepted under a seizure warrant, while Guyana’s maritime authority reported the vessel was falsely flying the country’s flag. The tanker is now heading to Houston, where its cargo will be offloaded onto smaller ships.
Sources familiar with the matter say Washington is preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan oil.
Venezuela has condemned the tanker seizure as “blatant theft” and “international piracy,” stating it would file complaints with international bodies. Venezuelan lawmakers also took a step to withdraw the country from the international criminal court, which is currently investigating alleged human rights abuses in the country.
After more than 20 U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific against alleged drug vessels this year, and a large-scale U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean, relations between the U.S. and Venezuela are at their most volatile point in years.
Nearly 90 people have been killed in the U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats, raising concerns among human rights advocates and prompting debate among U.S. lawmakers regarding the legality of the actions.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke by phone with Maduro about “peace” in South America, the Brazilian presidency said Friday. Lula had not spoken to Maduro since Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, the results of which Brazil – along with much of the international community – did not recognize.
The Trump administration does not recognize Maduro, in power since 2013, as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Washington has signaled more seizures are planned as part of efforts to disrupt sanctioned oil flows, and subsequently imposed new sanctions on three nephews of Maduro’s wife and six tankers linked to them.
Trump has also repeatedly suggested the possibility of a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
Maduro alleges the U.S. is intent on regime change and seeks to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, after secretly leaving the country to receive the Nobel peace prize, on Friday promised Maduro would leave power “whether there is a negotiated changeover or not.” She also vowed to focus on a peaceful transition and thanked Trump for his “decisive support.” Machado defied a decade-long travel ban and a period in hiding to travel to Oslo on Thursday, stating she would soon bring the Nobel peace prize back home to Venezuela.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
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