President Donald Trump on Wednesday affirmed that the US had gained command of an oil tanker near the shore of Venezuela, a step which risks heightening strains with that nation.
“As you possibly know we’ve just taken possession of a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump stated. “Big tanker, very big, biggest one ever confiscated, in fact.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi later published a video on X showing armed personnel descending onto the vessel from a helicopter, then advancing on deck with weapons drawn. She remarked that the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Coast Guard, “with backing from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker utilized to move sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”
“For numerous years, the oil tanker has been penalized by the United States due to its participation in an illicit oil shipping system supporting foreign terrorist groups. This confiscation, finalized off the coast of Venezuela, was carried out safely and securely—and our inquiry alongside the Department of Homeland Security to impede the shipping of sanctioned oil proceeds,” Bondi wrote.
This screengrab taken from a video posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi on December 10 shows US forces securing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
This screengrab taken from a video posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi on December 10 shows US forces securing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Pam Bondi/X
The president offered no detailed justification for the action, mentioning only that it was taken “for very sound reason.” When asked what would happen to the oil the tanker was conveying, Trump replied, “We hold it, I suppose.”
The capture happened in international waters, a high-ranking US official stated, and proceeded without incident or injuries among the US personnel or the tanker’s complement.
The vessel, named the Skipper, was carrying Venezuelan crude, the official reported. The tanker had been earlier connected with Iranian oil, and a federal judge issued an order for its seizure because of those connections.
The action risks further worsening tensions with Venezuela, where Trump has intensified a pressure effort aimed at compelling the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, from his position. The ship, which was headed to Cuba, was ultimately bound for Asia after being arranged through Cuban sellers, the senior official mentioned, adding that further captures are conceivable in the forthcoming weeks as the US applies pressure on Maduro.
In answer to queries from CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Trump commented he had not conferred with Maduro lately and declined to name who possessed the seized tanker.
A communiqué from the Venezuelan government Wednesday expressed it “vehemently protests” the seizure and labeled the move an “act of global brigandage.”
“In these conditions, the actual motives for the protracted hostility against Venezuela have at last been disclosed,” the communiqué asserted. “It is not migration. It is not narcotics dealing. It is not self-governance. It is not civil liberties. It has consistently been about our native assets, our petroleum, our power, the commodities belonging solely to the Venezuelan public.”
Venezuela declared it would challenge the seizure to “all accessible global venues.”
This screengrab taken from a video posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi on December shows US forces seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
This screengrab taken from a video posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi on December shows US forces seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Pam Bondi/X
Cuba is already coping with some of the gravest power shortages in decades, with interruptions lasting hours, sometimes days. The communist-led island’s aging energy framework relies on petroleum imports, frequently in the form of gifts arriving from allies such as Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico. The Cuban administration offered no immediate remark on news of the capture of the oil tanker headed for the island.
The US is now months into its exertion campaign on Venezuela that has involved moving thousands of troops and a carrier strike group into the Caribbean, assaults on suspected drug vessels, and repeated warnings against Maduro. Thus far, the US military has put to death 87 persons in strikes that have destroyed 23 alleged drug boats, and Trump has regularly suggested action on land might occur soon.
CNN has informed the Trump administration is preparing day-after agendas in the event Maduro is removed from authority, according to two senior administration officials and an additional source acquainted with the talks.
Maduro did not cover the seized tanker in a discourse Wednesday that was occurring as word of the US’s maneuver was spreading.
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