US seizes seventh oil tanker ‘operating in defiance’ of Trump’s Venezuela blockade

Published January 20, 2026 5:58pm ET



U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean apprehended a seventh Venezuelan oil tanker, Sagitta, on Tuesday morning under the banner of Operation Southern Spear. 

The operation was conducted by a joint task force in support of the Department of Homeland Security and marks another step in President Donald Trump’s efforts to interdict unauthorized Venezuelan energy exports. 

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