India, Jan. 7 -- The US has ramped up its crackdown on shipments of oil by Venezuela, seizing two sanctioned tankers this week a Russian-flagged one, the Marinery in the middle of the Atlantic and another the M/T Sofia in the Caribbean. The military video released by US forces shows the scale and coordination of such an operation highlighting the geopolitical stakes over the energy resources of Venezuela.

US Coast Guard boarding "ghost fleet" tanker Sophia near the Caribbean earlier today to disrupt sanctioned oil trafficking linked to Venezuela, Iran and China. The vessel was falsely flying a Cameroonian flag. pic.twitter.com/dTRMtYAn1O

- Conflict Dispatch (@ConflictDISP) January 7, 2026

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the M/T Sophia, a ...