Caracas condemns ‘piracy’, US seizes oil tanker in Venezuela

President Donald Trump said U.S. forces had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against the government of Nicolás Maduro.

“We just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela – a large oil tanker, very large, actually the largest oil tanker ever seized,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Attorney General Pam Bondi released a video of the seizure, describing the ship as “a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”

Caracas quickly condemned the action, calling it an act of “international piracy.” Previously, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an “oil colony.”

The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funneling drugs to the United States and has stepped up efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.

Venezuela has some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves and has accused Washington of trying to steal its resources.

Brent crude oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as news of the seizures stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warned the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela’s oil exports.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who heads the U.S. Department of Justice, said the FBI, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the seizure.

“For many years, the tanker has been subject to U.S. sanctions for its role in illicit oil transportation networks that support foreign terrorist organizations,” the country’s top prosecutor wrote on X.

Video shared by Bundy showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship as troops used ropes to descend to the deck. In the video, uniformed men can be seen walking around the boat with guns drawn.

A senior military official told the BBC’s US partner CBS that the helicopter used in the operation was launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the Caribbean last month.

The operation involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.

A source told CBS that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation and that the Trump administration is considering more similar actions.

Asked by reporters what the U.S. would do with the oil on the tankers, Trump said: “I think we’re going to keep it… I think we’re going to keep the oil.”

Maritime risk firm Vanguard Tech identified the ship as the Skipper and said it believed the vessel had long been “spoofing” its location, or broadcasting a false location.

According to CBS, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Skipper in 2022 for his alleged involvement in oil smuggling to generate revenue for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.

BBC verify found the tanker on MarineTraffic, which showed its position was last updated two days ago and that the tanker was sailing under the Guyanese flag. However, Guyana’s Ministry of Maritime Administration issued a statement late Wednesday saying the captain “erroneously flew the Guyanese flag as it was not registered in Guyana.”

The captain’s port call log shows that the ship called at Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates from June 30 to July 9 this year. BBC verify found that, according to MarineTraffic, the ship’s most recent stop was the port of Soroosh in Iran on July 9.

That doesn’t mean it hasn’t called at multiple other ports since then.

MarineTraffic shows it last approached Iran in mid-September before reaching the coast of Guyana in late October and making little further movement since then. This data may be partial or incorrect due to spoofing.

MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd of Nigeria and the registered owner as Triton Navigation Corp of the Marshall Islands.

The Venezuelan government issued a statement condemning the seizure as a “serious international crime.”

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the United States “murderers, thieves, pirates.”

He mentioned “Pirates of the Caribbean,” but said that while the film’s protagonist, Jack Sparrow, was a “hero,” he believed “these were high seas criminals, pirates.”

Cabello said this is how the United States “wages wars around the world.”

Maduro spoke at a rally earlier Wednesday, delivering a message to Americans against war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit.

“To the American citizens who oppose the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don’t worry, be happy,” Maduro said in Spanish, before singing along with the lyrics to the 1988 hit.

“No war, be happy. No crazy war, no crazy war, be happy.”

It was unclear whether Maduro knew about the tanker seizure before the rally.

In recent days, the United States has stepped up its military presence in the Caribbean, which borders Venezuela to the north.

The buildup involves thousands of troops and the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is deployed within striking distance of Venezuela. BBC verified report.

The move sparked speculation that some kind of military action might be taken.

Since September, the United States has carried out at least 22 attacks on ships in the region, which the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people were killed in these attacks.

Ione Wells contributed to this report from Sao Paulo, Brazil.