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Breaking: Trump Announces Seizure of Oil Tanker Off Venezuela’s Coast By U.S. Military


UPDATE (12/12/25): International media has reported that the seized oil tanker was identified by U.S. Officials as the “Skipper.” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker had been used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Bondi said it had been sanctioned by the U.S. for years due to its alleged involvement in an illicit oil-shipping network that supports Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). In 2022, the tanker had been sanctioned under a different name by the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

As the news of the seizure broke on Wednesday (10th December, 2025), a communique from the Government of Venezuela denounced the act, calling the seizure a brazen robbery and an act of international piracy. “This is not the first time he [President Donald Trump] has admitted it; during his 2024 campaign, he openly stated that his objective has always been to take Venezuelan oil without paying anything in return, making clear that the policy of aggression against our country responds to a deliberate plan to plunder our energy resources,” it stated.

According to the Venezuelan Government, “Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been exposed. It is not migration. It is not drug trafficking. It is not democracy. It is not human rights. It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people. Venezuela calls on all Venezuelan people to remain firm in defence of the homeland, and urges the international community to reject this vandalistic, illegal, and unprecedented aggression that is being normalized as a tool of pressure and plunder.”

The communique continued, “The Bolivarian Government reaffirms that it will go before all existing international bodies to denounce this grave international crime, and will defend with absolute determination its sovereignty, its natural resources, and its national dignity. Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to seize from the Venezuelan people what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right.”


UPDATE (11/12/25): Reuters is reporting that the United States is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of an oil tanker on Wednesday, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to six (6) sources familiar with the matter. The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019. It came as the U.S. executes a large-scale military build-up in the Southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for Maduro’s ouster.

The latest U.S. action has put shipowners, operators and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude on alert, with many reconsidering whether to sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said.


UPDATE: According to FBI Director Kash Patel, “Today [Wednesday 10th December, 2025] the FBI and our partners executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela — used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. The tanker has been used in recent years in an illicit shipping network supporting Foreign Terrorist Organizations [FTOs].” He said this administration’s “efforts to crush FTOs and cut off their resources will continue day and night.”

 


United States President Donald Trump announced a short while ago this afternoon (Wednesday 10th December, 2025) that the U.S. military has seized an oil tanker off of Venezuela’s coast. The President made the announcement while speaking to reporters during a roundtable discussion at the Roosevelt Room at the White House, involving several leaders of technology companies, including Michael Dell.

“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually.” The latest move comes as the Trump administration continues to escalate the U.S. military presence in the region.

Trump did not provide details on the matter but said that it was an “interesting day.” He also hinted that more may develop as “other things are happening.”

When questioned later by a reporter about the seizure of the oil tanker, Trump said, “It was seized for a very good reason.”
News of the seizure comes after Trump told Politico in an interview published on Tuesday (9th December, 2025) that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “days are numbered.” Trump declined to comment to Politico on whether the U.S. could send troops to the country.

His administration has built up military force in the region over the last month, including sending the largest U.S. aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford — to the Caribbean. The vessel is host to squadrons of fighter jets and guided-missile destroyers.

The U.S. has targeted alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean since September, with Trump justifying the strikes by characterizing the U.S. as being in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. He described the boats as being operated by foreign terrorist organizations.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been criticized for a kinetic strike on a boat on 2nd September, 2025 that included a secondary hit, killing two (2) survivors of the initial attack. Critics have questioned whether the double-tap constituted a war crime.

Hegseth has since defended the strike by saying he did not personally see the survivors before approving another hit, citing what he called the “fog of war.”

Maduro has accused the U.S. of trying to fabricate a war against him. He was charged in 2020, during the first Trump administration, with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.

Trump recently offered a US $50 million reward for Maduro’s arrest.

More on this as it becomes available.

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

[Source: NBC News]
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