Seizure of oil tanker off Venezuela escalates US–Caracas standoff

The United States has seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, injecting fresh volatility into an already-charged standoff as President Donald Trump continues to threaten military action. The operation, carried out Wednesday by the US coastguard with support from multiple federal agencies, remains largely shrouded in secrecy.

“We’ve just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela – large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said at the White House. “And other things are happening. So you’ll be seeing that later.” Pressed for details, he told reporters to “follow the tanker” and added, “I assume we’re going to keep the oil.”

Venezuela blasted the move as a “blatant theft” and “act of international piracy,” vowing to defend its sovereignty and bring the case before international bodies. Its foreign ministry accused Washington of using force to commandeer a vessel in Venezuelan waters.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship was targeted for transporting “sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran,” linking it to an illicit shipping network. She posted a video showing US forces rappelling onto the tanker from helicopters, noting that the FBI, Department of Defense and Homeland Security coordinated with the coastguard.

The seizure lands amid Trump’s expanding “maximum pressure” posture. The US has deployed the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group to the Caribbean and carried out 22 lethal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing an estimated 87 people. Trump has suggested those strikes could extend onto land.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro alleges the US aims to topple his government and seize control of the country’s oil sector.