By Patricia Garip (Bloomberg) — Another oil tanker has been boarded by the US near Venezuela, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as President Donald Trump intensifies an oil blockade on Nicolás Maduro’s government. 

The Bella 1 tanker, a Panamanian-flagged vessel sanctioned by the US, was en route to Venezuela to load, one of the people said, asking not to be identified. The interdiction follows the boarding of the Centuries supertanker early Saturday and the Skipper on Dec. 10.  

The White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump has been stepping up pressure on Maduro by trying to choke off the regime’s main source of revenue. If Venezuela can’t export its oil, its storage tanks will fill up with stranded supply and state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, will have to start closing oil wells, industry experts say.

Trump also designated the Maduro government as a foreign terrorist organization, accusing it of involvement in drug trafficking.  

Saturday’s boarding was notable because the ship hadn’t appeared on the public US sanctions list. The Centuries tanker was flying a Panamanian flag, according to people familiar with the matter, while a Chinese company holds title to the oil.

The tanker contained sanctioned PDVSA oil, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a post on X. 

Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez condemned “the theft and kidnapping” of the tanker, calling the move “a serious act of piracy” by the US government.

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