US to bring seized Venezuelan tanker to American port as White House hints at more ship seizures

An oil tanker seized off Venezuela’s coast will be taken to a United States port, the White House has confirmed, as the Trump administration signals it may step up maritime seizures as part of its pressure campaign against Caracas.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US intends to confiscate both the vessel and its cargo, following a military operation a day earlier to take control of the tanker.

“The vessel will go to a US port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” Leavitt said, adding that a legal process would be followed.

She also left the door open to further seizures of sanctioned ships in the region, a prospect that analysts say marks a significant escalation in Washington’s confrontation with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” Leavitt said.

US officials have not publicly named the tanker, but British maritime risk firm Vanguard said it appeared to be the crude carrier Skipper. The vessel was sanctioned in 2022 over allegations that it helped transport oil linked to Iran’s Quds Force and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, both designated by Washington as terrorist organisations.

Caracas has denounced the seizure as “international piracy”, accusing the US of violating international law and using sanctions as a pretext to appropriate Venezuelan resources.

The tanker seizure comes amid a broader US military buildup in the Caribbean, fuelling speculation that President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing more aggressive actions against Maduro’s government.

Since September 2, the White House has carried out at least 22 known strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Those operations have killed at least 87 people and drawn sharp criticism from legal experts and human rights groups, who question their legality under international law.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to expand the campaign onto land, potentially inside Venezuela itself.

“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land too,” he said at a December 2 cabinet meeting. “The land is much easier. It’s much easier. And we know the routes they take. We know everything about them.”