US seized 'very large' tanker near Venezuela, Trump says
The boat was the "largest one ever seized", says the US president, amid a series of strikes in the Caribbean Sea.
United States President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on farm subsidies in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Dec 8, 2025. (File photo: AP/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON: The United States has seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Wednesday (Dec 10), which Caracas deemed a "blatant theft" amid escalating tensions between the countries.
The move comes during a huge US naval build-up in the Caribbean, which Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro says is aimed at regime change and strikes on alleged drug boats.
A video published by US Attorney General Pam Bondi showed troops rappelling from a helicopter onto the tanker's deck, then entering the ship's bridge with rifles raised.
"We've 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 start of a roundtable with business leaders at the White House.
"And other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later."
Bondi said the tanker was part of an "illicit oil shipping network" used to carry sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
The seizure was carried out by the US Coast Guard and supported by the US Navy, according to a US official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A day earlier, the US military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country’s airspace since the start of the administration's pressure campaign.
Venezuela's foreign ministry, meanwhile, said in a statement it "strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the president of the United States".
US media reported that the tanker was heading for Cuba, another American rival, and was detained by the US Coast Guard.
Trump's announcement came a day before Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was set to address the world from Oslo after coming out of hiding.
Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging Maduro's grip on power in oil-rich Venezuela, has not been seen out in the open for months after threats to her life.
Venezuela had warned she could be arrested as a fugitive if attempting to re-enter the country after travelling for the Nobel, but Trump warned Caracas against any such step.
"I don't like if she would be arrested, I wouldn't be happy with it," Trump told reporters.
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After saying she was coming to Norway but would not arrive in time for Wednesday's prize ceremony, Machado will make her first public appearance at a press conference in Oslo at 9.15am (5.15pm Singapore time) on Thursday, Norway's government said.
Accepting the award on Machado's behalf on Wednesday, her daughter read the opposition leader's blistering acceptance speech, in which she urged her compatriots to fight for freedom against "state terrorism" by Maduro.
Trump's administration has piled pressure on Maduro in recent months, building up the US' largest military presence in the region in decades as it deployed a fleet of warships and the world's largest aircraft carrier under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
It has also carried out deadly strikes on more than 20 alleged drug boats in the region, killing at least 87 people.
Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged "Cartel of the Suns", which it declared a "narco-terrorist" organisation last month.
Trump told Politico on Monday that Maduro's "days are numbered" and declined to rule out a US ground invasion against Venezuela.
Maduro - the political heir to leftist leader Hugo Chavez - says the US is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela's oil reserves.
The Venezuelan army swore in 5,600 soldiers on Saturday after Maduro called for stepped-up military recruitment.
Trump's administration also alleges that Maduro's hold on power is illegitimate and that he stole Venezuela's July 2024 election - a claim backed by opposition leader Machado.
Since going into hiding, Machado's only public appearance was on Jan 9, in Caracas, where she protested against Maduro's inauguration for his third term.
Among the concessions the US has made to Maduro during past negotiations was approval for oil giant Chevron to resume pumping and exporting Venezuelan oil. The corporation's activities in the South American country resulted in a financial lifeline for Maduro's government.
