The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Dec. 31 new actions against four companies and four linked vessels, which it said are helping Venezuela evade oil export sanctions.

In a Dec. 31 press statement, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control described the four entities and their affiliated vessels as part of a so-called “shadow fleet” working to sustain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “illegitimate narco-terrorist regime.”

These latest sanction actions are part of a multifaceted U.S. pressure campaign, which has accelerated in recent months, against Maduro over drug trafficking.

The Trump administration has revisited years-old allegations tying the Venezuelan leader to drug cartels in his country.

In November, the U.S. government designated the Cartel de Los Soles—an alleged criminal enterprise grafted into the Venezuelan government—as a foreign terrorist organization.

On Dec. 16, President Donald Trump ordered a blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers sailing in and out of Venezuela.

U.S. authorities have seized two oil tankers in the past month and chased a third tanker away from Venezuela.

The Treasury Department has added other tankers and individuals connected to Maduro’s family to sanctions lists in recent weeks.

“President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

The four business entities targeted in the latest round of sanctions include Corniola Limited, Krape Myrtle Co., Winky International Limited, and Aries Global Investment Ltd.

According to the Treasury Department, Corniola Limited is the owner of the crude oil tanker Nord Star, which was among the four vessels targeted in Wednesday’s sanctions action.

The department said Krape Myrtle manages and operates the Nord Star. Publicly available data, published by Marine Traffic, indicates Nord Star is registered under the flag of Panama.

Winky International is alleged to operate the tanker Rosalind, which the Treasury Department also identified by the name Lunar Tide. Registration data indicates the tanker Rosalind is registered under the flag of Guinea.

The department said Aries Global Investment has operated one tanker named Della and another named Valiant, both of which were listed in Wednesday’s sanction action. Registration data indicates Della and Valiant both operate under the flag of Hong Kong.

Alongside new sanctions and terrorism designations, U.S. military has been conducting strikes on vessels transporting illicit drugs in and around South America.

U.S. forces have conducted at least 30 strikes targeting what officials said were drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific since September.

For months, Trump has suggested a new phase of attacks could focus on land-based targets.

Trump alluded to a U.S. strike on a land-based target in a Dec. 26 radio interview.

In subsequent comments on Dec. 29, the president said the strike targeted a facility used to load Venezuelan drug boats.

Many details about the strike and the location of the targeted facility remain unclear.