US seized oil tanker off Venezuelan coast, Trump says

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed that the US had taken control of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a move which risks inflaming tensions with that country.

“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 later 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, “with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from 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. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues,” Bondi wrote.

The president did not offer any detailed explanation for the move, saying only that it 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 vessel, named the Skipper, was carrying Venezuelan crude, the official said. The tanker had been previously associated with Iranian oil, and a federal judge issued a warrant for its seizure because of those links.

The move risks further escalating tensions with Venezuela, where Trump has intensified a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the nation’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, out of power. 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.

In response to questions from CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Trump said he had not spoken to Maduro recently and declined to say who owns the seized tanker.

Cuba has already been grappling with some of the worst power outages in decades, with blackouts stretching for hours, sometimes days. 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. The Cuban government had no immediate response to news of the seizure of the tanker of oil heading to the island.

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.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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CNN’s Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report.