The US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Donald Trump confirmed the seizure to reporters on the White Home on Wednesday.
Utilizing US forces to grab an oil tanker is extremely uncommon and marks the newest push by the Trump administration to mount strain on Venezuela’s authorities.
It comes because the US has constructed up the biggest navy presence within the area in a long time and launched a collection of lethal strikes on boats the federal government claims have been drug-smuggling within the Caribbean.
Right here is every thing we all know in regards to the seizure.
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3:15
US seizing oil tanker a ‘vital escalation’
What occurred?
US Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi shared a video of American troops executing a seizure warrant on the crude oil tanker.
The footage exhibits a helicopter hovering just some toes above the ship as forces rapidly descend on ropes.
The troops wearing camouflage uniforms could be seen storming throughout the deck, armed with giant firearms, earlier than pointing their weapons at a door and getting into.
The video, probably recorded from one other helicopter, additionally exhibits forces working upstairs to the bridge as others transfer all through the superstructure of the ship.
Picture:
Ropes have been hanging from the helicopter to abseil troops. Pic: X / @AGPamBondi
Picture:
Troops are seen with their weapons drawn exterior the tanker’s bridge. Pic: US Lawyer Normal’s Workplace/X by way of AP
Ms Bondi confirmed that the FBI, Homeland Safety, US Coast Guard, and Division of Defence have been concerned.
The US Coast Guard group included elite forces skilled in high-risk boarding from the Maritime Safety Response Groups, which specialises in maritime counterterrorism and counternarcotics, in accordance with two US officers.
Energetic-duty US navy troopers have been additionally concerned within the seizure. Though they weren’t permitted to board the tanker as they have been deployed on Title 10 (lively obligation) orders, they aided with overhead surveillance and helicopter transport, the officers stated.
Picture:
Forces rapidly descended from the helicopter
Why was the tanker seized?
Ms Bondi stated on X that the ship was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran”.
“For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations,” she added.
She didn’t identify the vessel, what flag the vessel sailed underneath, or precisely the place the incident came about.
Picture:
Forces have been seen all through the superstructure of the ship. Pic: X / @AGPamBondi
However UK maritime threat administration group Vanguard stated that the seized tanker is named Skipper, which the US sanctioned for alleged involvement in Iranian oil buying and selling underneath the identify Adisa.
The ship left Venezuela’s foremost oil port of Jose between 4 and 5 December after loading about 1.1 million barrels of oil, in accordance with satellite tv for pc data analysed by TankerTrackers.com and inner transport knowledge from Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA.
Guyana’s maritime authority stated Skipper was falsely flying Guyana’s flag, including that it plans to take motion in opposition to the unauthorised use of the nation’s flag.
Picture:
The oil tanker was recognized as a ship known as Skipper. Pic: X / @AGPamBondi
What did Trump say?
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” he stated on the White Home on Wednesday.
With out giving extra info on the operation, Mr Trump added that “other things are happening”.
Later, Mr Trump stated that the tanker was “seized for a very good reason,” and when requested what is going to occur to the oil on board the vessel, he added: “Well, we keep it, I suppose”.
He additionally advised that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who angered the Trump administration by talking at a pro-Palestinian demonstration exterior the UN in September, might “be next” if his nation would not “wise up” on alleged drug trafficking.
What did Venezuela say?
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro didn’t handle the seizure at a rally earlier than a ruling-party-organised demonstration in Caracas, however informed supporters that Venezuela is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary”.
Flanked by senior officers, he stated that solely the ruling occasion can “guarantee peace, stability, and the harmonious development of Venezuela, South America and the Caribbean”.
In a later assertion, the Venezuelan authorities accused the US of “blatant theft” and described the seizure as “an act of international piracy”.
It stated it could “defend its sovereignty, natural resources, and national dignity with absolute determination,” and stated it could denounce the seizure of the tanker earlier than worldwide our bodies.
Picture:
Nicolas Maduro at a march in Venezuela on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Why is the US concentrating on Venezuela?
The US accuses Mr Maduro of presiding over a narco-trafficking operation in Venezuela, which he denies.
On 2 September, the White Home posted on X that it had performed a strike in opposition to so-called “narcoterrorists” transport fentanyl to the US, with out offering direct proof of the alleged crime.
On the time, Mr Trump accused Mr Maduro – who he doesn’t recognise because the nation’s chief – of heading up the infamous organised crime gang Tren de Aragua (additionally with out offering proof).
The US president claimed the ship his forces focused was utilized by the gang to hold medicine.
He additionally confirmed he had permitted CIA operations within the nation to sort out alleged drug trafficking.
Picture:
A US navy strike on what Mr Trump says was a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel on its approach to the US. Pic: The White Home/Reuters
In return, Mr Maduro accused Mr Trump of looking for regime change and of “fabricating a new eternal war” in opposition to his nation. He denies having any hyperlinks to the unlawful drug commerce.
Ramsay studies that the fentanyl is smuggled straight into the US throughout its southern border.
Venezuela is as a substitute largely a transit nation fairly than a drug producer – supplying unlawful medicine, particularly cocaine, which come from nations like Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
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4:30
Are US strikes on Venezuela about medicine or oil?
The Maduro authorities sees US actions as a seize for Venezuela’s oil reserves, that are among the many greatest on the earth.
The nation produces about a million barrels a day.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen stated the oil tanker seizure casts doubt on the Trump administration’s said causes for the navy buildup and boat strikes within the area.
“This shows that their whole cover story – that this is about interdicting drugs – is a big lie,” he stated. “This is just one more piece of evidence that this is really about regime change – by force.”
Picture:
16 October 2025, Venezuela, La Guaira: Members of the militia participate in navy workouts throughout a swearing-in ceremony for peasant mili
The disaster is escalating
“By targeting an oil shipment, rather than a suspected drug boat, Washington has signalled its willingness to disrupt exports,” Blevins stated.
“President Trump seems determined to shut down one of the last major sources of funding for Nicolas Maduro’s embattled government.”
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The seizure comes after the Trump administration has been ramping up strain on the Venezuelan president for months with elevated navy deployments in opposition to the Latin American nation.
Sky’s Knowledge & Forensics unit has verified that previously 4 months since strikes started, 23 boats have been focused in 22 strikes, killing 87 individuals.
In November, the USS Gerald R Ford plane provider – the biggest warship on the earth – travelled to the Caribbean in what was interpreted by many on the time as a present of navy energy.
Picture:
The Gerald R. Ford, USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Mahan and USS Bainbridge within the Atlantic, 13 November. Supply: US Division of Battle
Days after the warship’s arrival, the US authorities’s Federal Aviation Administration warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela.
The warning led to 3 worldwide airways cancelling flights departing from Venezuela and, later, Mr Maduro revoked working rights for six main airways.
In additional escalation, Mr Trump stated on 30 November that the airspace “above and surrounding” the nation must be thought of closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump additionally advised up to now that American forces might launch a land assault on Venezuela.
Chatting with Politico on Tuesday, Mr Trump declined to touch upon whether or not US troops would enter Venezuela, however stated that Mr Maduro’s “days are numbered”.
