Oil Tankers Depart Venezuela in ‘Dark Mode’ – Despite US Blockade

Screenshot from a video posted by U.S. Southern Command on Dec. 31, 2025.

Over a dozen sanctioned oil tankers have departed Venezuela in an apparent attempt to evade the U.S. blockade of the country.

Both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed over the weekend that the blockade on sanctioned oil tankers surrounding Venezuela would remain in effect after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Friday.

But reports show that up to sixteen sanctioned tankers appear to have breached the blockade, leaving the Venezuelan coast for international waters.

Most of these vessels are supertankers that typically carry crude oil to China, according to TankerTrackers.com and shipping documents from state-run Venezuelan oil company PDVSA reported by Reuters.

Four vessels were tracked by The New York Times via satellite, sailing 30 miles east of shore. These tankers were using fake ship names and false location reporting to evade detection. They left port without the interim government’s authorization, according to internal communications from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company and two people in the Venezuelan oil industry, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Times.

A source with knowledge of the departure paperwork told Reuters that at least four supertankers were cleared by Venezuelan authorities to leave with satellite signals turned off– commonly referred to as operating in “dark mode.”

The outlet also reported that a separate group of smaller sanctions ships departed Venezuela in spite of the blockade after fulfilling domestic trips or unloading imported goods.

Twelve vessels are actively in “dark mode” and have not been located.

Trump initially imposed the blockade on December 16, days after The U.S. began seizing oil tankers near Venezuelan shores. Trump’s bombing campaign of vessels allegedly carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela has killed over 100 people since strikes began in September. Rubio confirmed on Sunday that airstrikes on vessels were set continue following Maduro’s arrest.

The Venezuelan leader is set to appear in federal court in New York on Monday, after being charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, weapons charges, and cocaine-importation conspiracy.