Image Credentials: Image Title: US Seizes ‘Very Large’ Oil Tanker Off Venezuela Coast Amid Escalating Tensions Source: (sora.openai) Date: December 2025. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (sora.openai) and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that his administration executed the seizure of a massive oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a move guaranteed to ratchet up political and military tensions with the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump characterized the action as unprecedented in scale. “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela; large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump stated, adding that the seizure was carried out “for a very good reason.” When questioned about the fate of the valuable cargo, the President simply said, “We keep it, I guess.”
❗️MOMENT US seizes oil tanker off coast of Venezuela
Coast Guard rappel down off Black Hawks, STORM bridge
AG Bondi claims vessel 'transported sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran'
Seizure 'conducted safely and securely'@MTodayNews pic.twitter.com/hbET4uyMWQ
— MagaDet17 (@MagaDet17) December 10, 2025
Allegations of Illicit Shipping
While the President was initially reticent to provide details, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi later provided clarification on the legal basis for the seizure via social media. Bondi announced that the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Coast Guard, with support from the Department of Defense, had executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker.
Bondi alleged that the vessel was used to transport sanctioned oil from both Venezuela and Iran, and had been under U.S. sanctions for multiple years due to its involvement in an “illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.” The operation was carried out “safely and securely” off the Venezuelan coast.
Escalation and Regional Force Buildup
The seizure marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign to pressure President Maduro to step down from power. President Trump reaffirmed his stance that “all options, including military force,” remain on the table.
The action comes amid an ongoing massive force buildup in the region and follows a series of aggressive enforcement actions in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific. Since early September, the U.S. has carried out 22 known strikes on alleged “narco-terrorist” seaborne vessels, resulting in 87 fatalities.
Furthermore, President Trump indicated a desire to expand the campaign beyond the seas, expressing his intention to include land strikes on alleged drug traffickers in Venezuela and potentially beyond, signaling a widening scope of U.S. anti-narcotics and anti-Maduro operations in the Western Hemisphere.