Trump: U.S. Seized Oil Tanker Off Venezuela

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resident Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a dramatic escalation in the administration’s pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump told reporters at the White House, calling it “the largest one ever seized” and adding only, “It was seized for a very good reason.” Asked what would happen to the crude on board, Trump replied: “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the tanker seizure was carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard with support from the Navy. Coast Guard personnel fast-roped onto the ship from helicopters launched off the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed to the Caribbean in a major U.S. show of force.

A video posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi showed armed Coast Guard members boarding the tanker and clearing its superstructure.

Bondi wrote that the vessel “has been sanctioned for multiple years” due to involvement in an illicit network shipping oil for foreign terrorist organizations.

The seized ship, identified as the Skipper, departed Venezuela on December 2 with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude, according to documents from state-run oil company PDVSA. Roughly half the cargo reportedly belonged to a Cuban state-run importer. The tanker previously sailed as M/T Adisa, sanctioned in 2022 for allegedly moving oil on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.

Venezuela condemns ‘international piracy’

Venezuela’s government called the U.S. action “a blatant theft” and an act of “international piracy,” accusing Washington of using military force to seize Venezuelan resources.

“The true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed,” the government said. “It has always been about our natural resources.”

Maduro, speaking at a rally in Caracas, did not refer directly to the tanker but warned supporters that Venezuela was “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”

The tanker seizure comes amid the largest U.S. military presence in the Caribbean in decades and follows a string of deadly U.S. strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The campaign has killed at least 87 people in 22 strikes since early September, prompting bipartisan concern in Congress.

Earlier this week, a pair of U.S. fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela, the closest to Venezuelan airspace that American warplanes have come in recent years. Trump has repeatedly hinted that “land attacks” are coming soon but has provided no further details.

Critics warn of Mission Creep

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the tanker operation undermines the administration’s stated justification that the military campaign is aimed at interdicting drugs.

“This shows that their whole cover story — that this is about interdicting drugs — is a big lie,” Van Hollen said. “This is really about regime change — by force.”

Naval historian Vincent P. O’Hara called the seizure “very unusual” and “provocative,” warning that such a move could deter maritime traffic and “cripple Venezuela’s economy.”

Lawmakers have demanded unedited footage of the boat strikes, which reportedly included a follow-up strike killing two survivors clinging to debris. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress Tuesday that he is still weighing whether the strike videos will be released.

The Coast Guard referred all questions about the tanker seizure to the White House, which has not provided further details.

(Source: The Associated Press)