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The United States Coast Guard has moved decisively to pursue a third oil tanker tied to Venezuela’s shadow fleet, a clear signal that this administration will not allow criminal networks and hostile regimes to abuse the high seas with impunity. Officials say the vessel was operating under a false flag and is subject to a judicial seizure order, and American sailors and law enforcement are doing what is necessary to stop the traffic that fuels tyranny and funds terrorists.
This tanker, reported to be the Bella 1, is no mystery to those who track Tehran’s and Caracas’s illicit oil routes — it has been sanctioned for links to networks that funnel revenue to bad actors and circumvent international law. The Biden-era appeasement of rogue regimes is over; this administration has reclaimed the obligation to enforce sanctions and choke off cash that props up Maduro and his patrons.
Americans should also remember this pursuit did not come out of nowhere — it follows the successful interdictions of vessels like the Skipper and the Centuries, operations that exposed how Venezuela’s “dark fleet” works to hide cargo and lie about its movements. Those seizures were coordinated actions by the Coast Guard, FBI, and Homeland Security, and they removed millions of dollars in illicit oil revenue from the hands of criminal enterprises.
President Trump’s declaration of a blockade on sanctioned tankers is a bold and necessary step to protect U.S. national security and economic interests in our hemisphere, not reckless adventurism. For too long, weak foreign policy allowed Chavez- and Maduro-style kleptocrats to traffic oil, drugs, and influence through proxy networks; enforcing the rules restores deterrence and sends a message that the Western Hemisphere will not be a safe harbor for Iran’s allies or for criminal cartels.
Predictably, overseas critics and anti-American voices rushed to denounce lawful seizures as violations of international norms, even as those same critics have long shielded dictators who steal their people’s future. Beijing’s posturing and hollow outrage cannot hide the fact that the United States is acting on credible intelligence to disrupt crime and terrorism financing at sea — and ordinary Americans pay the price when corrupt regimes export instability.
Make no mistake: these operations carry risk, and they require clear political backing from Washington. Congress and the American people should stand behind a policy that protects our borders, secures energy markets, and defends freedom in our hemisphere, while demanding strict oversight to keep our servicemen and women safe as they enforce the law.
This is a moment to be proud of American resolve, not to indulge cliches about diplomacy that leave our security to chance. The Coast Guard and our partners are doing the hard work to choke off revenue to tyrants and terrorists — and patriotic Americans should applaud leadership that puts national security before political convenience.
