KATHMANDU, Dec 11: US forces have taken control of a large oil tanker near Venezuela, a move President Donald Trump presented as part of Washington’s effort to tighten pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Trump told reporters the seized ship was “very large”, and US officials later shared video showing troops landing on the deck, according to the BBC.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker had long been under American sanctions for carrying oil linked to restricted networks involving Venezuela and Iran. Footage she released showed helicopters and armed personnel securing the vessel. A senior military source told CBS News, as cited by the BBC, that the mission involved two helicopters, Coast Guard crews, Marines, and special forces launched from a Defence Department ship.
Caracas condemned the operation, calling it “international piracy”, and warned that Washington aimed to take Venezuela’s oil. Maduro, who spoke at a rally earlier in the day, said his country would never be turned into an “oil colony”. His government later issued a statement accusing the US of trying to deny Venezuelans control over their own resources, the BBC stated.
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Washington has intensified its campaign against Maduro, accusing his government of drug trafficking and illicit oil sales. As news of the seizure spread, oil prices rose slightly amid concern about short-term supply. Analysts warned that ship operators might avoid Venezuelan routes, further squeezing the country’s weakened export capacity, according to the BBC.
Maritime firm Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as Skipper, described as part of a “dark fleet” of tankers operating with limited transparency and under shifting national flags. The BBC Verify located the ship on Marine Traffic, which last recorded it sailing under Guyana’s flag.
When asked what the US planned to do with the oil on board, Trump replied that the US would “keep it”. Bondi later wrote on X that multiple US agencies had coordinated the seizure and argued that the tanker supported foreign groups Washington classifies as terrorist organizations, the BBC reported.
Venezuelan officials reacted angrily. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused the US of acting like “pirates”, likening American forces to criminals at sea rather than the heroic characters in Hollywood films. He said this was the same pattern of behaviour that had sparked conflicts in other regions, the BBC said.
The incident unfolded as the US increased its military footprint in the Caribbean. The BBC reported that thousands of US troops and the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford had moved into the area. Since September, US forces have carried out more than twenty strikes on boats Washington says were involved in drug smuggling, leaving dozens dead.
