US Seizes Massive Oil Tanker Near Venezuela,Says Trump
The US seizes a sanctioned oil tanker near Venezuela, triggering a surge in global tensions as a 10-unit military team storms the vessel in a dramatic operation.
President Donald Trump said the US military has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a major escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.
"We just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela—a large tanker, very large, in fact, the largest tanker ever seized," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the ship as a "crude oil tanker used to transport contraband oil from Venezuela and Iran."
Caracas immediately condemned the action, calling it an act of "international piracy." Previously, President Maduro had declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony."
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of shipping drugs to the US and has stepped up its efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.
Venezuela – home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves – has in turn accused Washington of trying to steal its resources.
Brent crude oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday as news of the seizure raised short-term supply concerns. Analysts have warned that the move could pose a threat to shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Justice Department, said the seizure was carried out jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard.
"For many years, this oil tanker was embargoed by the United States because it was involved in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," the country's top prosecutor wrote on X.
Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship and soldiers descending onto the deck using ropes. The clip showed men in uniforms roaming the ship with guns pointed.
A senior military official said the helicopters used in the operation were launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the Caribbean last month.
It included two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.
A source told CBS that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and that the Trump administration was considering further such actions.
When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We'll keep it, I think... I think we're going to keep the oil." Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech identified the ship as Skipper and said they believed it had been "spoofing" its position—that is, broadcasting a false location—for a long time.
CBS reported that the US Treasury Department sanctioned the skipper in 2022 for allegedly being involved in oil smuggling that provided revenue to Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
Verify located the tanker on MarineTraffic, which showed that when its status was last updated two days ago, it was sailing under the Guyanese flag. However, a statement from Guyana's Maritime Administration Department on Wednesday evening said the skipper was "falsely flying the Guyanese flag because it is not registered in Guyana."
The Venezuelan government issued a statement condemning the seizure, calling it a "serious international crime."
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates."
He mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while the film's main character, Jack Sparrow, was a "hero," he believes "these people are criminals, pirates of the high seas."
Cabello said that this is how the US has "started wars all over the world."
Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro offered a message to Americans protesting the war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.
Maduro said in Spanish, singing the lyrics of the 1988 hit song, "To the American citizens against the war, I answer with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy."
It's unclear whether Maduro knew about the tanker seizure before the rally.
In recent days, the US has increased its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.
This deployment has placed thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford within striking distance of Venezuela.
This move has fueled speculation about the possibility of military action.
Since September, the US has carried out at least 22 attacks on boats in the region that the Trump administration says were smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have been killed in these attacks.
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