US troops have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against the government of Nicolas Maduro.
“We just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela – a large tanker, very large, the largest ever seized,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Releasing 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 immediately condemned the action, calling it an act of “international piracy.” Previously, President Maduro said that Venezuela would never become an “oil colony.”
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of trafficking drugs into the United States and has in recent months stepped up its efforts to isolate President Maduro.
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 rose on Wednesday as news of the seizure raised concerns about short-term supplies. Analysts warn the move could endanger shippers and further undermine Venezuela's oil exports.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who heads the US Department of Justice, said the arrest was coordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Coast Guard.
“For several years, the oil tanker was under US sanctions due to its participation in an illegal oil transportation network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” the country’s top prosecutor wrote on X.
Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over the large ship as soldiers were lowered onto the deck using ropes. In the video, men in uniform were seen moving around the ship with weapons drawn.
A senior military official told the BBC's US partner CBS that the helicopters used in the operation were launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which was deployed to the Caribbean last month.
It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard personnel and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation and the Trump administration was considering further similar actions, a source told CBS.
Asked by reporters what the United States would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump replied: “I think we'll keep it… I guess we'll keep the oil.”
Marine risk management company Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as Skipper and said it believed the vessel had been “spoofing” its location or broadcasting a false location for an extended period of time.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Skipper in 2022, CBS reported, for his alleged involvement in oil smuggling that benefited Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Quds Force).
BBC Verify spotted the tanker on the MarineTraffic website, which shows it was sailing under the Guyana flag when its location was last updated two days ago. However, a statement from the Guyana Department of Maritime Administration on Wednesday evening said the skipper was “falsely sailing under the Guyana flag as he is not registered in Guyana.”
The Venezuelan government issued a statement calling the seizure a “serious international crime.”
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the United States “murderers, thieves and pirates.”
He mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that although that film's protagonist Jack Sparrow was a “hero”, he believed that “these guys are outlaws on the high seas, pirates.”
Cabello said this is how the US “started wars around the world.”
Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro addressed Americans opposed to the war with Venezuela. It appeared as a hit in 1988.
“To the 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. No, not a crazy war, no, be happy.”
It is unclear whether Maduro knew about the tanker seizure before the rally.
In recent days, the US has increased its military presence in the Caribbean, which borders Venezuela to the north.
The surge involves thousands of troops, and the USS Gerald Ford is within striking distance of Venezuela. BBC Verify reports this..
The move sparked speculation about the possibility of some kind of military action.
Since September, the US has carried out at least 22 strikes on vessels in the region that the Trump administration says are involved in drug smuggling. At least 80 people were killed as a result of these attacks.
Ione Wells in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed to this report.
