Ship-tracking services identified about twelve vessels, reportedly oil tankers, departing from Venezuelan ports during the first week of 2026, all of which are under U.S. sanctions.
Some of the tankers appeared to be operating in “dark mode,” likely with approval from Venezuelan authorities. This means their satellite tracking systems were turned off to conceal their locations.
The week wrapped up dramatically with a notable event in which the U.S. military conducted a raid that resulted in the death of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. This action came just weeks after President Donald Trump initiated a “blockade” against all sanctioned oil tankers heading to Venezuela.
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Both President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted over the weekend that Maduro’s capture doesn’t mean the lockdown will be lifted.
“We’re quarantining their oil, which means their economy can’t progress until certain conditions are fulfilled that serve both the U.S. and the Venezuelan people,” Rubio mentioned on Sunday.
“Regarding our authority over the quarantine, it’s straightforward. We have a court order for these sanctioned vessels to track and seize them,” he added.
It was reported that the recent movement of tankers could either be an attempt to circumvent President Trump’s blockade or a sign that the U.S. government may have permitted some of these departures.
Both ships were estimated to be carrying around 12 million barrels of oil. Half of these were “supertankers” typically tasked with transporting Venezuelan crude to China, according to ship tracking data and records from Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). President Trump confirmed that China would continue to receive crude oil from Venezuela.
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Due to the blockade, Venezuela’s oil exports came to a halt last week, prompting PDVSA to begin cutting production. Reports indicated that PDVSA was running out of storage space after filling onshore facilities and loading ships with crude oil.
According to experts, at least 16 ships seemed to participate in a significant attempt to breach the U.S. blockade against sanctioned oil tankers. Their departure appeared abrupt, as many had been anchored in Venezuelan ports for weeks before vanishing hours after the raid on Maduro.
Moreover, some vessels were reported to have been running in “dark mode,” and experts mentioned that certain ships were likely “spoofing”—using false names and navigation data.
Sameer Madani, co-founder of Tanker Tracker, noted, “The most viable method for oil-laden tankers to bypass a blockade is to overwhelm it with numerous outbound ships.”
Four of the ships reportedly set sail without authorization from the interim government headed by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, presumably in defiance of Maduro’s authority.
These four vessels were linked to oil traders Alex Saab and Ramon Carretero, both of whom are under sanctions for their business ties to Maduro.
Saab, who is Colombian, was imprisoned in the U.S. for roughly two years on money laundering charges. However, he was swapped by the Biden administration in 2023 in exchange for several American detainees in Venezuela. A year later, Maduro appointed him as Minister of Industry.
