US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro’s government.
“We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela — a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a “crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran”.
Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of “international piracy”. Earlier, President 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.
US Attorney General Pam 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 organisations,” the nation’s top prosecutor wrote on X.
Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending onto 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, ten Coast Guard members and ten Marines, as well as special forces. (BBC)
