U.S. authorities stepped up their blockade of Venezuela by seeking to board and pursuing a third tanker en route to load oil in the Latin American nation, according to a Financial Times article shared via X posts by @FT, @joeparkdan, @alexrogers, @arogDC, and @JamieSmythF in the 30 minutes ending at 11:17 PM UTC on December 21, 2025. The Financial Times report, linked in an X post by @JamieSmythF at approximately 11:00 PM UTC, details the U.S. pursuit amid enforcement of sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments. This marks the third such incident on December 21, following U.S. Coast Guard pursuits of the sanctioned tanker BELLA 1 earlier in the day, which refused boarding near coordinates 18N 58W, and permission granted by Panama for boarding the Centuries tanker off Venezuela's coast, as confirmed by unnamed U.S. officials to The Washington Post.
