Mike Baker

That's according to ship registration records.

The vessel last transmitted its position more than two months ago while departing the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe.

U.S.

officials say it previously transported Venezuelan oil through networks tied to Russia's Shadow Fleet.

That's the criminal system designed to obscure cargo origins and skirt international sanctions.

That background matters because the tanker has been under Treasury Department sanctions since 2022 under an executive order tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It's also sanctioned by the United Kingdom.

But like many other vessels tied to Venezuelan crew, the ship re-flagged, previously sailing under the Panamanian flag and the name Angelica Schultz.

That's just another example of how these vessels move through layers of registration ownership to evade sanctions.

Southern Command made clear what this operation was meant to signal.

In its statement, the command said the seizure, quote, demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully, end quote.

The U.S.

military also released aerial footage showing the Sajita underway at sea, though unlike earlier videos of seizures, this one didn't show helicopters or boarding teams landing on the deck.

This latest seizure fits into a much larger push underway since Nicolas Maduro's capture in the U.S.

raid that took place on the 3rd of January.

Since then, the Trump administration has been moving to assert direct control over Venezuela's oil sector.

White House officials describe the tanker seizures not just as an enforcement tool, but also as a way to generate revenue, as Washington works to rebuild Venezuela's degraded oil infrastructure

and stabilize an economy hollowed out by years of socialist mismanagement and corruption.

That strategy was on display earlier this month when Trump met with oil industry executives to discuss plans to invest as much as $100 billion in Venezuela's energy sector.

And just yesterday, speaking at the White House, Trump said the U.S.