US seizes oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, Trump says
US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp 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, the largest ever seized,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who released video of the seizure, described the ship as “a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”
Caracas immediately condemned the action, calling it an act of “international piracy”. Previously, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never be an “oil colony”.
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funneling drugs into the United States and has intensified efforts to pressure President Maduro in recent months.
Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has also accused Washington of trying to take its oil.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as news of the seizure raised short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn that the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela’s oil exports.
U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi, who heads the U.S. Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the capture.
“For several years the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States for its involvement in an illegal oil transportation network that supports foreign terrorist organizations,” the country’s attorney general wrote to X.
In the images shared by Bondi, it is seen that a military helicopter flies over a large ship and soldiers descend to the deck with ropes. In the clip, men in uniform can be seen moving around the ship with their weapons drawn.
A senior military official told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that the mission to seize the tanker was launched from a Ministry of Defense ship.
Two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces, took part in the operation.
The source said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation and that the Trump administration was considering other similar actions.
When asked by reporters what the US would do with the tanker’s oil, Trump said: “I think we’re keeping it… I think we’re going to keep the oil.”
Maritime risk firm Vanguard Tech identified the oil tanker as Skipper.
“The ship was reportedly part of the dark fleet and was sanctioned by the US for transporting Venezuelan oil exports,” he says.
BBC Verify located this tanker on MarineTraffic; This shows that it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement condemning the seizure as a “grave international crime.”
“Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to deprive the Venezuelan people of their historic and constitutional rights,” the statement said.
He said the protracted attack on Venezuela has always been about “our natural resources, our oil, our energy, resources that belong solely to the Venezuelan people.”
Speaking at a rally early Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans who oppose war with Venezuela. It came in the form of the 1988 hit song.
“To the American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don’t worry, be happy,” Maduro said in Spanish, before singing the lyrics to the 1988 hit song.
“Not a war, be happy. Not a crazy war, be happy.”
It is unclear whether Maduro knew that the tanker had been seized before this rally.
After American forces boarded the ship, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the United States “murderers, thieves, pirates.”
He referenced Pirates of the Caribbean but said that although the film’s lead character, Jack Sparrow, was a “hero”, he believed “these guys were high-seas criminals, pirates”.
Cabello said this is how the United States “starts wars all over the world.”
In recent days, the United States has increased its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela’s north.
This buildup includes thousands of soldiers and the positioning of the world’s largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, very close to Venezuela. BBC Verification reported.
The move sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.
Since September, the United States has launched at least 22 attacks on boats in the area that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people lost their lives in these attacks.
Ione Wells contributed to this report.
