The financial machinery keeping Nicolás Maduro’s regime alive just suffered one of its most direct blows from Washington. The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), sanctioned four companies operating in the Venezuelan oil sector and blocked four tankers used to transport crude oil from the country, several of which are linked to what’s known as the shadow fleet.
This measure directly targets the core of the sanctions evasion scheme that allows the regime to keep exporting oil, concealing maritime traceability, and generating revenues for what Washington openly considers an illegitimate narco-terrorist regime.
“President Donald Trump has been clear: we will not allow Maduro’s illegitimate regime to benefit from oil exports while flooding the U.S. with deadly drugs,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, highlighting that economic pressure will continue to escalate.
The Shadow Fleet: A Critical Link in the Illegal Oil Business
Since the reimposition of sanctions, Caracas has deepened its reliance on opaque vessels, constantly changing flags, shell companies in Asia, and intentionally turning off AIS systems to evade international controls. These oil tankers not only transport crude: they function as the financial circulatory system of the regime.
OFAC warns that Venezuela increasingly depends on this global network of vessels to: 1) Evade international sanctions; 2) Maintain oil cash flows; and 3) Finance destabilizing operations both within and outside the country.
The message is crystal clear, said OFAC in a statement: participating in the Venezuelan oil trade today carries severe legal risks, even for non-U.S. actors.
Sanctioned Companies and Vessels
The sanctions are based on Executive Order 13850, which punishes those operating in the Venezuelan oil sector. The designations include:
Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD
Blocked Vessel: NORD STAR (IMO 9323596)
Directly transported Venezuelan crude
Winky International Limited
Blocked Vessel: ROSALIND / LUNAR TIDE (IMO 9277735)
Aries Global Investment LTD
Blocked Vessels: DELLA (IMO 9227479) and VALIANT (IMO 9409247)
All vessels were added to OFAC’s SDN list, freezing their assets and prohibiting any operations under U.S. jurisdiction.
Legal implications: total blockage and criminal liability
With this decision:
All assets of these companies and vessels in the U.S. are blocked
It activates the 50% rule, extending sanctions to entities directly or indirectly controlled
Transactions, services, financing, or insurance related are prohibited
OFAC emphasizes that violations can lead to civil or criminal sanctions, even under the principle of strict liability, raising the risk for shipping companies, banks, insurers, and international traders.
PDVSA at the Center of the Financial Siege
This new package adds to the historic designation of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in 2019 and the total blockage actions ordered that same year. The strategic objective remains unchanged: cutting off the income sources that sustain Maduro’s regime and forcing a change in behavior.
The official narrative is clear: sanctions are not an end in themselves; rather, they are a tool to dismantle a state criminal system that combines oil, drug trafficking, and repression.
OFAC’s actions send a global warning: there is no safe anonymity in the Venezuelan oil business. The shadow fleet is being identified, mapped, and neutralized. For Maduro, each blocked tanker represents less financial oxygen; for international intermediaries, an increasingly visible red line.
Venezuelan oil continues to flow to the sea, but now sails under an uncomfortable truth: every barrel exported is a latent legal risk.