Venezuela Says US Oil Tanker Seizure Is “Piracy” as Trump Says US Will Keep Oil
Experts say the seizure is likely illegal and represents an expansion of US sanctions enforcement.
By Sharon Zhang ,
Trump Says Maduro’s “Days Are Numbered” as Admin Prepares “Day After” Plans
Administration officials are reportedly preparing plans for various potential scenarios involving Maduro’s ouster. By Sharon Zhang , Truthout December 10, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security also posted a video of the seizure, bragging that it was a “KNOCKOUT,” adding a song by LL Cool J to the footage.
Experts have cast doubt as to whether it is legal for the U.S. to seize the tanker, noting that it is highly unusual to do so in international waters.
“This action marks a significant escalation not only of the U.S.–Venezuela conflict but also of the extraterritorial enforcement of sanctions by the United States. From a strictly legal standpoint, the U.S. has no jurisdiction to impede Venezuela from selling its oil to non-U.S. parties as long as the transaction happens outside of U.S. territory,” said Francisco Rodríguez, senior fellow for the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
“What the U.S. is doing is using the law of the sea concerning stateless vessels, which allows it to approach, board, and inspect vessels without a national registration, as an entryway to justify enforcing U.S. sanctions outside of U.S. territory,” Rodríguez added, saying that a prolonged campaign like this could deepen Venezuela’s economic woes.
In a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) pleaded with Congress to exercise its war powers to stop the Trump administration from further escalation with Venezuela.
“Trump is bringing us to the brink of war — a regime change war — and we are running out of time to stop it,” Van Hollen said.
Experts say the seizure is likely illegal and represents an expansion of US sanctions enforcement.
By Sharon Zhang ,
December 11, 2025
President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro participates in a civic-military rally on November 25, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela.Jesus Vargas / Getty Images
The Venezuelan government has condemned the U.S.’s seizure of an oil tanker off its coast as “piracy,” as President Donald Trump says that the U.S. is keeping the oil.
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said the seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.” It added that the move shows that the U.S.’s recent aggression “has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
Trump told reporters that the tanker was “seized for a very good reason,” and claimed that it was the “largest [tanker] ever seized.” When asked what the U.S. would do with the oil aboard the tanker, he said, “We keep it, I guess.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the U.S. “executed a seizure warrant” for the tanker, which 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 organizations,” Bondi said in a post on X. Attached to the post was a video supposedly depicting the seizure, showing grainy footage of U.S. troops descending on the vessel from a helicopter and storming it, guns in hand.
Related Story
The Venezuelan government has condemned the U.S.’s seizure of an oil tanker off its coast as “piracy,” as President Donald Trump says that the U.S. is keeping the oil.
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said the seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.” It added that the move shows that the U.S.’s recent aggression “has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
Trump told reporters that the tanker was “seized for a very good reason,” and claimed that it was the “largest [tanker] ever seized.” When asked what the U.S. would do with the oil aboard the tanker, he said, “We keep it, I guess.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the U.S. “executed a seizure warrant” for the tanker, which 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 organizations,” Bondi said in a post on X. Attached to the post was a video supposedly depicting the seizure, showing grainy footage of U.S. troops descending on the vessel from a helicopter and storming it, guns in hand.
Related Story
Trump Says Maduro’s “Days Are Numbered” as Admin Prepares “Day After” Plans
Administration officials are reportedly preparing plans for various potential scenarios involving Maduro’s ouster. By Sharon Zhang , Truthout December 10, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security also posted a video of the seizure, bragging that it was a “KNOCKOUT,” adding a song by LL Cool J to the footage.
Experts have cast doubt as to whether it is legal for the U.S. to seize the tanker, noting that it is highly unusual to do so in international waters.
“This action marks a significant escalation not only of the U.S.–Venezuela conflict but also of the extraterritorial enforcement of sanctions by the United States. From a strictly legal standpoint, the U.S. has no jurisdiction to impede Venezuela from selling its oil to non-U.S. parties as long as the transaction happens outside of U.S. territory,” said Francisco Rodríguez, senior fellow for the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
“What the U.S. is doing is using the law of the sea concerning stateless vessels, which allows it to approach, board, and inspect vessels without a national registration, as an entryway to justify enforcing U.S. sanctions outside of U.S. territory,” Rodríguez added, saying that a prolonged campaign like this could deepen Venezuela’s economic woes.
In a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) pleaded with Congress to exercise its war powers to stop the Trump administration from further escalation with Venezuela.
“Trump is bringing us to the brink of war — a regime change war — and we are running out of time to stop it,” Van Hollen said.
“Millions of civilians will be at risk if the economy deteriorates and tensions rise,” warned one anti-war group.
A Venezuelan navy patrol boat escorts Panamanian flagged crude oil tanker Yoselin near the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela on November 11, 2025.
(Photo by Juan Carlos Hernandez/AFP via Getty Images)
Brad Reed
Dec 10, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The US military on Wednesday seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in the latest act of aggression against a nation that President Donald Trump has been openly threatening for several weeks.
Bloomberg, which described the move as a “serious escalation” in tensions between the US and Venezuela, reported that the seizure of the tanker by US forces “may make it much harder for Venezuela to export its oil, as other shippers are now likely to be more reluctant to load its cargoes.”
The seizure was described to Bloomberg by a Trump administration official as a “judicial enforcement action on a stateless vessel” that had been docked in Venezuela.
Shortly after the seizure occurred, Trump boasted about it during a meeting with business leaders at the White House, declaring that the tanker was the “largest one ever seized.”
Just Foreign Policy, a progressive think tank and advocacy group, condemned the seizure of the tanker, describing it as an “illegal US move to take control of Venezuela’s natural resources and strangle the economy, which is already struggling under indiscriminate US sanctions,” and warning that “millions of civilians will be at risk if the economy deteriorates and tensions rise.”
The seizure of the oil tanker is just one of many aggressive maneuvers that the Trump administration has been making around Venezuela.
Starting in September, the administration began a series of murders of people aboard boats in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela and in the Pacific Ocean.
The Trump administration has claimed those targeted for extrajudicial killing are drug smugglers and accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading an international drug trafficking organization called the Cartel de los Soles, despite many experts saying that they have seen no evidence that such an organization formally exists.
Trump late last month further escalated tensions with Venezuela when he declared that airspace over the nation was “closed in its entirety,” even though he lacks any legal authority to enforce such a decree. Trump has also hinted that strikes against purported drug traffickers on Venezuelan soil would occur in the near future.
The US military on Wednesday seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in the latest act of aggression against a nation that President Donald Trump has been openly threatening for several weeks.
Bloomberg, which described the move as a “serious escalation” in tensions between the US and Venezuela, reported that the seizure of the tanker by US forces “may make it much harder for Venezuela to export its oil, as other shippers are now likely to be more reluctant to load its cargoes.”
The seizure was described to Bloomberg by a Trump administration official as a “judicial enforcement action on a stateless vessel” that had been docked in Venezuela.
Shortly after the seizure occurred, Trump boasted about it during a meeting with business leaders at the White House, declaring that the tanker was the “largest one ever seized.”
Just Foreign Policy, a progressive think tank and advocacy group, condemned the seizure of the tanker, describing it as an “illegal US move to take control of Venezuela’s natural resources and strangle the economy, which is already struggling under indiscriminate US sanctions,” and warning that “millions of civilians will be at risk if the economy deteriorates and tensions rise.”
The seizure of the oil tanker is just one of many aggressive maneuvers that the Trump administration has been making around Venezuela.
Starting in September, the administration began a series of murders of people aboard boats in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela and in the Pacific Ocean.
The Trump administration has claimed those targeted for extrajudicial killing are drug smugglers and accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading an international drug trafficking organization called the Cartel de los Soles, despite many experts saying that they have seen no evidence that such an organization formally exists.
Trump late last month further escalated tensions with Venezuela when he declared that airspace over the nation was “closed in its entirety,” even though he lacks any legal authority to enforce such a decree. Trump has also hinted that strikes against purported drug traffickers on Venezuelan soil would occur in the near future.
US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela as Caracas condemns 'act of piracy'
Kayla Epstein; Ione Wells
Thu, December 11, 2025
U.S. forces abseil onto an oil tanker during a raid described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025, in a still image from video. U.S. Attorney General/Handout via
Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
Kayla Epstein; Ione Wells
Thu, December 11, 2025
U.S. forces abseil onto an oil tanker during a raid described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025, in a still image from video. U.S. Attorney General/Handout via
US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the tanker was "the largest one ever seized".
Footage released by the US government showed armed soldiers boarding the vessel, which Attorney General Pam Bondi said was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". Earlier, President Nicolás Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony".
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.
Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.
Brent crude prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.
On Thursday, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken with Maduro and reassured him of Moscow's support "in the face of growing external pressure".
Venezuelan opposition leader makes first public appearance after months in hiding
US jets tracked circling Gulf of Venezuela as tensions mount
Why is Trump threatening Venezuela's Maduro?
Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.
"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 organizations," the nation's top prosecutor wrote on X.
Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending on to the deck using ropes. Uniformed men were seen in the clip moving about the ship with guns drawn.
A senior military official told the BBC's US partner CBS that the helicopters used in the operation launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the Caribbean last month.
It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and the Trump administration was considering more actions like this, a source told CBS.
When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess... I assume we're going to keep the oil."
Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as the Skipper and said it believed the ship had been "spoofing" its position - or broadcasting a false location - for a long time.
BBC Verify has since confirmed that the vessel in the footage released by the Department of Homeland Security is the Skipper.
The US treasury department sanctioned the Skipper in 2022, CBS reported, for alleged involvement in oil smuggling that generated revenue for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
BBC Verify also located this tanker on MarineTraffic, which shows it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.
A statement from Guyana's Maritime Administration Department on Wednesday evening, however, said that the Skipper was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana."
The Skipper's port of call log shows it called in Iran, Iraq, and the UAE from 30 June to 9 July this year. Its most recent stop, according to MarineTraffic, was at Soroosh port in Iran on 9 July.
That does not mean that it has not called at multiple other ports since then.
MarineTraffic shows it was last near Iran in mid-September before arriving off the coast of Guyana at the end of October and making minimal further movement since then. This data may be partial or incorrect because of spoofing.
MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement denouncing the seizure as a "grave international crime".
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".
He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while that film's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are high seas criminals, buccaneers".
Cabello said this was how the US had "started wars all over the world".
Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans opposed to war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.
"To 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 along to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.
"Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."
It's unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before this rally.
In recent days, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.
The build-up involves thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela, BBC Verify reported.
The move has sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.
Since September, the US has conducted at least 22 strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have died in these attacks.
[BBC]
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the tanker was "the largest one ever seized".
Footage released by the US government showed armed soldiers boarding the vessel, which Attorney General Pam Bondi said was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". Earlier, President Nicolás Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony".
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.
Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.
Brent crude prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.
On Thursday, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken with Maduro and reassured him of Moscow's support "in the face of growing external pressure".
Venezuelan opposition leader makes first public appearance after months in hiding
US jets tracked circling Gulf of Venezuela as tensions mount
Why is Trump threatening Venezuela's Maduro?
Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.
"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 organizations," the nation's top prosecutor wrote on X.
Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending on to the deck using ropes. Uniformed men were seen in the clip moving about the ship with guns drawn.
A senior military official told the BBC's US partner CBS that the helicopters used in the operation launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the Caribbean last month.
It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and the Trump administration was considering more actions like this, a source told CBS.
When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess... I assume we're going to keep the oil."
Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as the Skipper and said it believed the ship had been "spoofing" its position - or broadcasting a false location - for a long time.
BBC Verify has since confirmed that the vessel in the footage released by the Department of Homeland Security is the Skipper.
The US treasury department sanctioned the Skipper in 2022, CBS reported, for alleged involvement in oil smuggling that generated revenue for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
BBC Verify also located this tanker on MarineTraffic, which shows it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.
A statement from Guyana's Maritime Administration Department on Wednesday evening, however, said that the Skipper was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana."
The Skipper's port of call log shows it called in Iran, Iraq, and the UAE from 30 June to 9 July this year. Its most recent stop, according to MarineTraffic, was at Soroosh port in Iran on 9 July.
That does not mean that it has not called at multiple other ports since then.
MarineTraffic shows it was last near Iran in mid-September before arriving off the coast of Guyana at the end of October and making minimal further movement since then. This data may be partial or incorrect because of spoofing.
MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement denouncing the seizure as a "grave international crime".
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".
He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while that film's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are high seas criminals, buccaneers".
Cabello said this was how the US had "started wars all over the world".
Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans opposed to war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.
"To 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 along to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.
"Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."
It's unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before this rally.
In recent days, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.
The build-up involves thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela, BBC Verify reported.
The move has sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.
Since September, the US has conducted at least 22 strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have died in these attacks.
[BBC]
Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
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