Claim: 16 oil tankers from BRICS members Brazil, Russia, China, India, plus Mexico and others are breaking the American blockade and loading Venezuelan oil.
Conclusion: The claim is false. Some reports confirm that sanctioned oil tankers were evading the blockade and that the U.S. had captured a Russian-flagged oil tanker. However, there is no evidence to show the fleet belongs to any BRICS nation.
Rating: Totally False — 
Several social media users have claimed that 16 oil tankers affiliated with BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, China, India), plus Mexico and others, are actively defying a U.S. blockade to load Venezuelan oil. Verified X user ‘Megatron_ron’ made such a claim and attached an image of a map highlighting Venezuela’s geography. The post gained more than 2.1 million views and can be seen below –
NEW:
🇺🇸🇻🇪 16 oil tankers from BRICS members Brazil, Russia, China, India, plus Mexico and others are BREAKING the American blockade and loading Venezuelan oil – Reuters pic.twitter.com/dlZyAjmS93
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) January 6, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims which can be seen here and here.
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and discovered that it is false. Media reports indicate that certain oil tankers attempted to break the U.S.-imposed blockade and that a Russian-flagged oil tanker was seized by U.S. forces. There is no evidence to suggest that BRICS nations such as India or Brazil, or countries like Mexico, attempted to break the blockade and load Venezuelan oil.
We first conducted a web search using the phrase “16 oil tankers from BRICS nations breaking U.S. blockade” to learn more about the claim. The search led us to a Reuters report published on January 6, 2026, which stated that oil tankers were still leaving Venezuela despite the U.S. blockade.
The report cited TankerTrackers and observed that half of the dozen vessels were “supertankers that typically carry Venezuelan crude to China.” However, the report explicitly stated that it was “unclear where the vessels were heading” and added that in December they were “destined for Asia.” View a section from the report below –
Following this, we came across another report published by Upstream that provided additional details. The report described a “mass breakout” involving at least a dozen ships identified as “Veronica III, Aquila II, and Vesna.” It further stated that the “ships all have Chinese owners and managers.” However, the report did not specify the vessels’ final destinations, nor did it mention any involvement of BRICS nations. A section from the report is shown below –
As of January 7, 2026, the U.S. has seized a Russian flag tanker that was “accused of breaking American sanctions and shipping Iranian oil” as per a BBC report. The oil tanker Marinera, previously known as Bella 1, was intercepted by U.S. forces in the North Atlantic. According to the White House, the vessel was classified as stateless after allegedly operating under a false flag. Russian authorities, however, disputed this claim, stating “temporary permission to sail under the State Flag of the Russian Federation” was granted to the vessel. View a screenshot from the report below –
There is no reference to BRICS nations like India, Brazil, South Africa plus Mexican involvement in breaching the U.S. blockade. Moreover, the reports state that a dozen oil tankers tried to breach the blockade and not sixteen. While the U.S. has captured a Russian-flagged oil tanker, there is no proof that official Chinese ships had breached the blockade. Thus, the claim is false.
