The U.S. Coast Guard’s seizure of a sixth sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean is exactly the kind of decisive action Americans expect to protect our national security and enforce our laws. For weeks the administration has targeted vessels in the so-called “dark fleet” moving illicit Venezuelan crude, and this newest interception sends a clear message: smugglers and rogue regimes will not treat the Western Hemisphere as their oil supermarket.
This operation is not an isolated stunt but part of a sustained campaign that has already netted vessels like the Olina and others accused of flying false flags and ferrying banned cargo. U.S. forces and the Coast Guard have repeatedly boarded tankers that left Venezuelan ports carrying sanctioned oil, choking off the shadowy shipping networks that try to skirt our sanctions. Those careful, targeted actions are how you enforce policy, not lecture from afar.
Timing matters: the latest seizure came just before President Trump’s scheduled meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, underscoring Washington’s leverage and the administration’s willingness to use it. The White House has been explicit that these operations are tied to a broader strategy to pressure Maduro’s cronies and to deny their patrons the revenue they use to stay in power. When the lefty elites howl about “international norms,” hardworking Americans see law enforcement doing its job.
Of course the predictable chorus of critics has wailed that the seizures are illegal or provocative, with Russia even taunting the U.S. at the U.N. and some U.N. experts whining about unilateral enforcement. Let them cry foul while our men and women in uniform, the Coast Guard and Navy, take the risks necessary to cut off financing to bad actors and protect legal commerce. We didn’t elect leaders to stand idly by while hostile regimes and terror-linked networks siphon off resources to fund instability.
Patriots should be proud that the U.S. is finally treating the law as more than a suggestion and is coordinating with legitimate Venezuelan authorities to disrupt fraudulent oil sales and reclaim stolen resources for the Venezuelan people. This is smart power: seize illicit shipments, deny Maduro’s allies cash, and create leverage for a political solution that returns sovereignty to Venezuela’s citizens. If critics want to defend crooked oil traffickers, that’s their choice; conservatives choose rule of law and American interests.
Now Congress and the administration must finish the job: tighten enforcement, support our regional partners, and seize every lawful opportunity to make America energy-secure. That means expanding domestic production, breaking the chokehold of hostile oil networks, and backing the brave service members who undertake dangerous maritime interdictions. Stand with those who protect our shores and our prosperity, and demand policies that keep America strong, sovereign, and energy independent.
