US seizes oil tanker off Venezuelan coast
(CNN) — The United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, escalating US pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
“As you probably know we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker has been sanctioned by the US for multiple years “due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” including Venezuela and Iran.
Bondi posted a video on X showing armed personnel rappelling on to the ship from a helicopter, then moving on deck with guns drawn. She said the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the US Coast Guard, conducted the seizure “with support from the Department of War.”
The seizure came as Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado touched down in Oslo, after she defied a travel ban and fled the country.
President Trump did not offer any detailed explanation for the move, saying only that the vessel was seized “for very good reason.” Asked what would happen to the oil the tanker was transporting, Trump said, “We keep it, I guess.”
The seizure occurred in international waters, a senior US official said, and proceeded without incident or casualties either among the US personnel or the tanker’s crew.
The ship, which was headed to Cuba, was ultimately destined for Asia after being brokered through Cuban sellers, the senior official said, adding that additional seizures are possible in the coming weeks as the US applies pressure on Maduro.
The vessel, named the Skipper, was carrying Venezuelan crude, the official said.
The Skipper, previously named the Adisa, was sanctioned by the US in 2022 for facilitating oil trades for Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
In response to questions from CNN, Trump said he had not spoken to Maduro recently and declined to say who owns the seized tanker.
The Venezuelan government said it “strongly denounces” the seizure and described the move as an “act of international piracy” in a statement Wednesday.
“In these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed,” the statement said. “It is not migration. It is not drug trafficking. It is not democracy. It is not human rights. It has always been about our natural wealth, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
Venezuela said it would appeal the seizure to “all existing international bodies.”
The US is now months into its pressure campaign on Venezuela that has included moving thousands of troops and a carrier strike group into the Caribbean, strikes on suspected drug boats and repeated threats against Maduro. So far, the US military has killed 87 people in strikes that have destroyed 23 alleged drug boats, and Trump has repeatedly suggested action on land could come soon.
CNN has reported the Trump administration is working on day-after plans in the event Maduro is ousted from power, according to two senior administration officials and another source familiar with the discussions.
Maduro did not address the seized tanker in a speech Wednesday that was occurring as news of the US’s move was circulating.
Tanker hid its location, satellite imager shows
According to satellite imagery and shipping data reviewed by CNN, the Skipper hid its true location while docked at a Venezuelan oil terminal last month.
On November 18, the Skipper was seen on satellite imagery docked around seven miles from the coastal Venezuelan city of Barcelona, according to a satellite image provided by Planet Labs. But at the same time, the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder was indicating it was located around 560 miles away, off the coast of Georgetown, Guyana.
Analysts say oil tankers sometimes “spoof” their AIS location in an attempt to hide questionable or illegal activities.
The tanker was flying a Guyana flag, despite not being registered in Guyana, the country’s Maritime Administration Department said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Prior to arriving in Venezuela, the Skipper docked in Egypt, the UAE and Hong Kong, according to shipping data. In early July, it appeared to loiter less than 15 miles off Iran’s coast for several days.
Cuba, the tanker’s intended next destination, has already been grappling with some of the worst power outages in decades, with blackouts stretching for hours, sometimes days.
Cuba’s foreign minister called seizure an “aggressive escalation” in a post to X.
The communist-run island’s aging energy infrastructure is dependent on oil imports, often in the form of donations coming from allies like Venezuela, Russia and Mexico.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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CNN’s Patrick Oppmann, Stefano Pozzebon, Michael Rios, Isaac Yee, Thomas Bordeaux, Sandi Sidhu and Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
