Trump says the US has intercepted an oil tanker near the Venezuelan coast
President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had intercepted an oil tanker near Venezuela, signaling a major intensification of Washington’s pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
“We just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela—a big tanker, very big, the biggest tanker ever actually seized,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as “a crude oil tanker used to transport contraband oil from Venezuela and Iran.” Caracas quickly condemned the action, calling it an act of “international piracy.” Earlier, President Maduro had declared that Venezuela would never be an “oil colony.”
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of smuggling narcotics into the United States and has intensified efforts in recent months to isolate President Maduro.
Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, in turn accuses Washington of stealing its resources.
Brent crude prices rose on Wednesday as news of the seizure heightened concerns about short-term supply. Analysts warn the move could be dangerous for shippers and further disrupt Venezuela’s oil exports.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the seizure was coordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard.
“For many years, the oil tanker has been banned by the United States due to its involvement in an illegal oil shipping network that supports foreign terrorist organizations,” the country’s top prosecutor wrote on X.
Bondi shared footage of a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, with soldiers using ropes to lower themselves onto the deck. The clip showed men in uniform walking around the ship with guns drawn.
A senior military official told US partner CBS that the helicopter was used in the operation, which began last month from the USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, which was deployed to the Caribbean.
It involved 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 measures.
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’ll keep the oil.”
Maritime risk firm Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as Skipper and said it believed the vessel had been “falsifying” its position—or broadcasting an incorrect location—for a long time.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Skipper in 2022 for his alleged involvement in oil smuggling that generated revenue for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, CBS reported.
When its status was last updated two days ago, it was sailing under the Guyana flag. However, a statement from Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department on Wednesday evening said the skipper was “incorrectly flying the Guyana flag because it is not registered in Guyana.”
The Venezuelan government issued a statement calling the seizure a “grave international crime.” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the United States “murderers, thieves, and pirates.”
He mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean but said that while the film’s main character, Jack Sparrow, was a “hero,” he believed that “these people are criminals, robbers of the sea.”
Cabello said that this is how America “started wars all over the world.” Speaking at a rally on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans who oppose the war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 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 words to the 1988 hit.
“No war, be happy. No, not a crazy war, no, be happy.” It is not clear whether Maduro was aware of 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.
Thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford have been deployed within striking distance of Venezuela. The move has sparked speculation about the possibility of some kind of military action.
Since September, the US has raided at least 22 boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have been killed in those raids.
