US seizes Venezuelan oil tanker, White House confirms oil seizure plans
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The United States plans to take control of oil found on a tanker off the coast of Venezuela that was seized by US forces on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump “talks a lot about how he thinks the way to lower the prices of everything is to lower the cost of energy,” Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy said Thursday. “Would he use this seized Venezuelan oil to help Americans with affordability here in the United States?”
Leavitt responded: “The ship will go to a US port and the US intends to seize the oil. But there is a legal process to seize that oil and that legal process will be followed.”
Minister Donald Trump On Wednesday, the United States announced it had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, sharply increasing US tensions with the country. The tanker was seized after it was allegedly used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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The USA seized Venezuela’s oil tanker “The Skipper”. (Planet Laboratories PBC/Reuters)
Leavitt continued: “The ship is currently undergoing a forfeiture process. The United States currently has a full investigation team on the ground and on the ship, and individuals on the ship are being interviewed and any relevant evidence is being seized.” Leavitt continued, adding that the oil in the tanker would go through a legal process before the USA could claim the energy source.
The tanker, called Skipper, loaded an estimated 1.8 million barrels of oil in early December and transported an estimated 200,000 barrels of oil just before its seizure. Reuters reported.
Based on current average oil prices, the value of the oil on the tanker is likely to be anywhere from $60 million to $100 million. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for any additional comment on the estimated price tag of oil but did not immediately receive a response.
The US military has been carrying out attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near Venezuela since September as part of Trump’s mission to stop the flow of drugs into the country. Since September, there have been at least 22 attacks on suspected drug traffickers near Venezuela, killing 87 people.
Doocy pressed Leavitt at the press conference on whether the U.S. strikes, called Operation Southern Lance, and rising tensions with Venezuela were “drug-related or oil-related.”
Newly released footage shows US forces securing an oil tanker in Venezuela. (via @AGPamBondi)
“The Trump administration is focused on doing a lot of things in the Western Hemisphere,” Leavitt responded. “The president has taken a new approach that no administration has taken in a long time to actually focus on what’s going on in our own backyard. And there are two things that are very important for this administration.”
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The boat attacks are seen as part of a US pressure campaign on Venezuela, likely aimed not only at disrupting the flow of drugs but also to oust dictatorial President Nicolás Maduro as leader of the oil-rich country.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt answered questions about the oil tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela on December 11, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
“The first is to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, which we know are killing hundreds of thousands of Americans,” he continued, adding that Trump is “fully committed to enforcing this administration’s sanctions policy.” And what you saw yesterday and what the world saw came true.”
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“Regarding oil and what happened yesterday, the Department of Justice requested a warrant to seize a ship and that order was approved because it is a sanctioned shadow ship that is known to be carrying black market approved oil to the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), which, as you know, is a sanctioned entity.” Venezuela is already subject to extensive US sanctions but has historically been a major supplier of crude oil to the US.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a ceremonial sword said to belong to independence hero Simon Bolivar during a government-organized civil-military march in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
Leavitt added that the administration will adhere to “the president’s sanctions policies and the sanctions policies of the United States.”
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“We will not stand by and watch sanctioned ships sail the seas with black market oil. These revenues will fuel narco-terrorism by rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
