After Nicolás Maduro’s Capture, Sanctioned Oil Tankers Flee Venezuela Undetected

In the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s dramatic capture by U.S. forces, over a dozen sanctioned oil tankers have gone dark and fled Venezuela, in what appears to be a coordinated attempt to evade President Donald Trump’s aggressive blockade against the socialist regime’s illicit oil trade.

At least 16 tankers have reportedly left Venezuelan ports over the weekend, with many disappearing from radar and satellite tracking engaging in what experts call “dark mode” or spoofing, a tactic where ships falsify their identity and location to dodge detection. Satellite images from TankerTrackers.com confirmed that four of the vessels departed shortly after Maduro’s arrest, heading north of Margarita Island.

This flight of ghost ships underscores the global scramble underway as Trump’s policy shift marked by Maduro’s removal and a sweeping oil blockade chokes the primary revenue lifeline of the authoritarian Venezuelan regime.

• Twelve of the fleeing vessels have not yet been located, indicating a highly coordinated effort involving foreign actors likely including China.

• Four tankers were reportedly unauthorized to leave port, according to internal communications from Venezuela’s state-run oil firm PDVSA.

• Most of the tankers are supertankers that had previously transported crude oil to China, violating U.S. sanctions.

While the Biden administration cowered in the face of Maduro for years, Trump didn’t blink. Not only did he order the extraction of Maduro and his wife, who now face narco-terrorism and arms trafficking charges in New York, he also enforced a December 16 oil blockade, backed by U.S. naval forces stationed throughout the Caribbean.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed on Sunday that this “quarantine” remains in effect and is delivering results.

“That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met,” Rubio stated. “That leverage is ongoing.”

And that leverage is working. Trump’s blockade isn’t just a headline it’s a strategic strike against the heart of a criminal regime whose oil sales have long funded foreign terrorist organizations and lined the pockets of global socialist elites.

Let’s not forget:

• The U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker on December 10, linked to terrorist financing networks.

• Another was boarded days later, reinforcing the administration’s willingness to act with force.

• Trump has made clear the oil on those vessels will remain in U.S. custody, a warning shot to any rogue nation looking to defy the blockade.

Meanwhile, with Maduro gone and U.S. control established on the ground, Venezuela is entering a period of uncertain transition. But one thing is certain the socialist oil money train is grinding to a halt, and global bad actors from Beijing to Tehran are feeling the squeeze.

While the Left and international media moan about "sovereignty," Trump is once again doing what weak leaders wouldn’t putting American interests first, cutting off funds to terrorists, and making sure U.S. enemies are held accountable.

The tankers may have disappeared from radar, but they haven’t escaped the consequences. And under President Trump’s leadership, they won’t.

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