As the old song goes, the heat is on, and Venezuela's El Presidente Nicolás Maduro has to be feeling it. In the latest report, the United States Coast Guard is reportedly pursuing a third rogue oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
That's right. A third tanker. Now, the White House, we should note, has not yet confirmed this as of this writing.
The United States is pursuing another tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, Reuters reported on Sunday morning, citing officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Pentagon referred Newsweek to the White House on the matter when contacted for comment. Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment and confirmation via email on Sunday.
While we can seize these tankers legally under a seizure warrant, as was done on the first such and presumably on the second, sadly, we're given to understand that the oil they are hauling isn't suitable for American refineries, being too poor quality, too full of sulfur, and other noxious substances. Perhaps it can be used to make asphalt. But the important point is that it won't be putting any money into Venezuela's shrinking accounts.
The tanker the U.S. Coast guard is reportedly pursuing is under sanctions, an official told Reuters. Bloomberg reported that the U.S. boarded the tanker, which it identified as Panamanian-flagged tanker Bella 1. However, Reuters reporter Idress Ali said in an X post, "Officials tell Reuters that while the U.S. is pursuing a tanker in international waters in the Caribbean, it has not yet been boarded," and marinetraffick.com noted the ship to be Guyana-flagged en route to Curaçao.
Saturday's apprehension and Sunday's pursuit come less than a week after Trump ordered a blockade on Venezuela's oil tankers, as he alleged that the South American country uses oil revenues to fund drug trafficking and crime.
The White House's National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that the two earlier tankers this month were operating on the black market and providing oil to various sanctioned countries. Noem said in her Saturday X post confirming the apprehension of another tanker, "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."
So far, it's working. Now, we note that the report here states that the Coast Guard is "pursuing" this new tanker, but that should be resolved quickly. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter or two pursuing a tramp oil tanker is a lot like a racing greyhound pursuing an elderly and arthritic Basset. That pursuit, no doubt aided by aerial reconnaissance, won't last long.
Read More: Terrorism Law Now Unleashed: Feds Unseal Tanker Seizure Order
New: USCG Snags Second Sanctioned Ship Off Coast of Venezuela
This is enough to make one wonder what other avenues Maduro has open to him. There's no easy way to move these amounts of oil overland. The "dark fleet" of rogue tankers that have been hauling Venezuelan oil to every wretched hive of scum and villainy on the planet are, one-by-one, being seized by the United States. The heat is indeed on El Presidente Maduro, and it's rather amazing that he's hung on this long. We must, I suppose, give him some credit for tenacity, but he can't keep this up forever.
This seems appropriate.
https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/12/21/report-coast-guard-now-targeting-another-sanctioned-oil-ship-off-venezuela-n2197347
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