Venezuela, Trump: we seized a large oil tanker

The US has seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. This was announced today by US President Donald Trump, amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas. "We've just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, in fact the largest ever seized," Trump told reporters. "And there's other things going on, you'll see later."

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video on X about the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that shows armed US personnel descending onto the ship from a helicopter, then moving onto the deck with weapons drawn. The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the US Coast Guard, with support from the War Department, she explained, 'executed a seizure warrant for an oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran'.

"For several years," he said, "the tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil transportation network in support of foreign terrorist organisations. This seizure, completed off the Venezuelan coast, was conducted safely and securely, and our investigation with the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the sanctioned oil transport continues." The seizure took place in international waters, a senior US official said, and was conducted without incident or casualties, either among US personnel or the tanker's crew. The ship, called the Skipper, was carrying Venezuelan crude oil, the official added. The tanker had previously been associated with Iranian oil, and a federal judge had issued a warrant for its seizure because of these links.

Venezuela accused the US of 'blatant theft' after President Donald Trump announced the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Caracas. In a statement, the foreign ministry 'denounces and strongly condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the US president'.