The early morning of December 20, 2025, marked a turning point in the ongoing tension between Washington and Caracas. In international waters off the Venezuelan coast, U.S. Coast Guard forces boarded and seized the tanker Centuries, a Very Large Crude Carrier transporting sanctioned Venezuelan crude oil. This was not a routine operation or a symbolic gesture; it was a legally backed executive action with immediate geopolitical implications and a clear message: the era of logistical impunity for Nicolás Maduro’s oil is coming to an end.
The Centuries (IMO 9206310), registered under the Panamanian flag, is owned by Centuries Shipping Ltd., based in Hong Kong, and managed under the ISM system by Vectis Maritime Management Ltd. Its history reveals a repeated pattern of violations against U.S. sanctions: multiple cargoes of crude and fuel oil from Venezuela under OFAC restrictions, flag changes—Greece and Liberia in the last five years—and, most recently, the use of falsified AIS signals to simulate operations in other areas of the Caribbean. In early December, the vessel loaded nearly two million barrels of Merey crude at the José Terminal, a move that put it directly in the sights of U.S. authorities.
The operation was confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security and documented by international media such as Reuters and BBC, which detailed the boarding with the support of infrared images and declassified material. This marks the second seizure in just one month: on December 10, another tanker—the Skipper—was intercepted under similar circumstances, also loaded with sanctioned Venezuelan crude. The pattern is clear: Washington is executing an active interdiction policy against what it refers to as the “shadow fleet” that financially sustains the Chavista regime.
The legal basis for this escalation rests on the sanctions framework imposed since 2019 on Venezuela’s oil sector. The Trump administration invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and specific executive orders against Venezuela to justify the interception in international waters. The argument is straightforward: the crude being transported is “sanctioned” and its trade feeds illicit networks that include evasion schemes involving actors in Asia, particularly linked to Chinese intermediaries, along with historical connections to Iran. Officially stated, cutting this logistical flow is equivalent to cutting off the financial lifeblood of a regime accused of funding criminal and destabilizing activities.
From Caracas, the reaction was immediate and, sadly, predictable. Nicolás Maduro’s government labeled the action as “piracy” and warned that “it will not go unpunished.” However, beyond the rhetoric, no concrete responses have materialized so far. In the range of scenarios evaluated by analysts are diplomatic protests to multilateral organizations, attempts at international judicial actions, a symbolic increase in naval patrols, and intensification of alliances with Moscow, Beijing, or Tehran to secure future shipments. The internal use of the incident as a political mobilization tool is also considered, appealing to the narrative of external aggression to divert attention from the economic crisis.
The Iranian factor, often present in sanctions evasion, re-emerges in the background. There is no public evidence of direct support from Iran to Maduro specifically in response to this seizure, but the history is well-known: opaque fleets, transfer of know-how in AIS manipulation, and logistical cooperation to circumvent blockades. The fall of the Centuries strikes precisely at that Iranian-Venezuelan network, demonstrating that concealment tactics no longer guarantee immunity from a determined interdiction.
Beyond the fate of the two million barrels seized, the strategic message is the real core of this operation. Washington has made it clear that the enforcement of sanctions is no longer limited to statements and blacklistings, but rather translates into physical actions on the maritime ground. For shipowners, insurers, and traders still operating in the shadows of Venezuelan oil, the signal is unmistakable: the risk has now escalated to an operational level.
The seizure of the Centuries is not an isolated episode. It is confirmation that the energy conflict with Maduro’s regime has entered a phase of execution, where sanctions law is combined with naval power and political will. In this context, the question is no longer whether there will be more interdictions, but rather how deep and sustained this new de facto blockade on Venezuelan oil will be.
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