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The United States intercepted two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela over the weekend. According to a report from Bloomberg, the operation is part of President Trump's blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela.

This blockade is aimed at cutting off an essential export that accounts for more than half of Venezuela's revenue. Trump has labeled the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization, claiming it uses sanctioned oil to fund drug trafficking.

The most recent tanker, the Bella 1, was a Panamanian-flagged ship sanctioned by the U.S. and was reportedly on its way to Venezuela for loading. The Centuries tanker, intercepted on Saturday, is registered in Panama and belongs to a Chinese-based oil trading company involved in moving Venezuelan oil to Chinese refineries.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated on X that the Centuries tanker held state-owned Venezuelan oil, which is sanctioned. She described it as a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and support the Maduro regime.

This blockade has significant implications for the humanitarian situation in Venezuela, according to Francisco J. Monaldi from Rice University, who warned that cutting off all oil revenue could lead to a drastic reduction in food imports and potentially trigger a major famine in the Western Hemisphere.

In related political developments, House Republicans rejected two Democratic-supported resolutions that aimed to force Trump to seek authorization from Congress for continued military actions against Venezuela and other alleged terrorist organizations.