The U.S. seized an oil tanker operating off Venezuela’s coast, President Donald Trump announced Dec. 10, marking another escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Federal officials later said the vessel belonged to an illicit shipping network that supports foreign terrorist organizations.
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually. And, other things are happening. So you’ll be seeing that later.”
Trump did not provide additional details but said it was “seized for a very good reason.” Asked what would happen to the oil, he replied, “We keep the oil I guess.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X Dec. 11 that federal agents executed a seizure warrant on a tanker previously sanctioned by the U.S. for participating in an illicit oil-shipping network linking Venezuela and Iran.
“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 organizations,” Bondi said.
Video posted with her statement showed armed personnel rappelling from helicopters onto the tanker’s deck before entering the ship.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Dec. 11 that the seizure was led by the Coast Guard alongside the Department of War, the Department of Justice, and the FBI, according to NBC News.
“It was a successful operation directed by the President to ensure that we’re pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing our next generation of Americans,” she said, the outlet reported.
Venezuela currently exports close to 750,000 barrels of oil per day, roughly half of which goes to China, FOX News reported. U.S. sanctions imposed in 2019 sharply reduced American imports of Venezuelan oil. Limited sanctions relief and occasional licensing — including a waiver for Chevron — enabled some Venezuelan shipments to reach U.S. refineries in 2024 and 2025, but Trump revoked Chevron’s license to purchase oil from Caracas earlier this year, according to FOX.
The operation comes as U.S. forces have conducted at least 22 strikes on alleged narcotraffickers near Venezuela since September, which killed 87 people, FOX reported. The Trump administration has tied the narcotics network to Maduro, whom U.S. officials have identified as the leader of the Cartel de Los Soles drug trafficking cartel.
The U.S. has steadily expanded its military presence in the region, deploying several warships and about 15,000 troops while effectively closing Venezuelan airspace. Trump is also weighing potential land strikes inside Venezuela, CatholicVote previously reported.
Amid the escalating tensions, Trump confirmed Dec. 1 that he recently spoke by phone with Maduro but declined to disclose details of the conversation.
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