This week, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four companies and identified four oil tankers as blocked property. This move increases pressure on Venezuela's Maduro regime, making it clear that the U.S. is determined to restrict oil flows associated with sanctioned entities.
On December 31, 2025, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the companies for their involvement in Venezuela's oil sector. This targeting focuses on vessels that belong to the shadow fleet supporting the South American nation. The Trump administration describes this action as part of a heightened effort to cut off revenue that supposedly supports narcoterrorism and destabilizes the region.
“President Trump has made it clear: We will not let the illegitimate Maduro regime profit from oil exports while it floods the U.S. with deadly drugs,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will keep pushing President Trump’s campaign against Maduro’s regime.”
The affected companies include Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD, which are linked to the tanker NORD STAR; Winky International Limited, associated with the vessel ROSALIND (also known as LUNAR TIDE); and Aries Global Investment LTD, tied to the tankers DELLA and VALIANT. All four ships have been categorized as blocked property under Executive Order 13850, which targets operations within Venezuela's oil sector.
These sanctions build on earlier actions when OFAC first targeted Venezuela's state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), in January 2019. This latest action comes in the wake of previous OFAC sanctions against PDVSA-related officials, associates, and vessels in mid-December.
The timing of these sanctions is part of a wider maritime enforcement effort that has escalated significantly in recent weeks. Earlier in December, President Trump announced a “complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, labeling the Maduro regime as a “foreign terrorist organization.” This announcement followed the U.S. seizure of the tanker Skipper, marking the first time a Venezuelan oil cargo was intercepted since sanctions began in 2019.
This blockade aims at Venezuela's extensive dark fleet of approximately 400 active tankers that transport sanctioned crude oil to China and other markets, according to TankerTrackers.com. As per their findings after Trump’s December announcement, only 40% of these vessels are currently under U.S. sanctions.
President Trump has also increased U.S. military presence in the southern Caribbean, deploying more naval and Coast Guard ships to waters near Venezuela as part of expanded counter-narcotics efforts. This buildup has been described by Trump as “the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”