The United States government is intensifying its efforts to control the Venezuelan oil trade by seeking court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to the industry, according to sources familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, US military and Coast Guard forces have intercepted several vessels in international waters, targeting ships that have carried Venezuelan oil or are suspected of doing so. These actions are part of a broader campaign to exert influence over Venezuela's oil resources and restrict the country's exports, which had nearly halted due to a US-imposed blockade but have now resumed under American supervision.

Civil forfeiture actions have been filed in district courts, allowing the United States to confiscate both vessels and their cargoes. The exact number of warrants remains unclear, as many filings are not public. The crackdown has focused on ships under sanctions or operating as part of a so-called shadow fleet, which attempts to evade detection while transporting oil from sanctioned producers such as Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. While there has been a temporary pause in seizures, officials indicate that enforcement could resume at any time against unauthorized vessels.

These measures mark an escalation from previous US actions, which typically targeted only the cargo rather than the ships themselves. The recent seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker has drawn criticism from Russia, which denounced the move as an illegal use of force and challenged the legal basis for US sanctions. Despite international objections, US authorities say they are monitoring additional vessels for potential enforcement actions.