President Donald Trump continues to escalate tensions between the US and Venezuela, this time by seizing an oil tanker off the Venezuela coast.
This latest action forms part of Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro. Trump has been threatening military action for some months and after the attack on so-called “narco-terrorists” in boats off the country, the US is taking a big step further.
According to Bloomberg, the US Coast Guard led an operation off the Venezuelan coast to commandeer an oil tanker. However, so far, no details are available as to the tanker’s name and location. Donald Trump confirmed the story shortly after.
“We’ve just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela – large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said at an event at the White House. “And other things are happening. So you’ll be seeing that later, and you’ll be talking about that later with some other people.”
During a round table, Trump was faced with reporters’ questions about the oil tanker and encouraged them to “follow the tanker.” Moreover, the president declined to identify the tanker’s owner.
“You’re going to get that information later,” Trump said, adding, “I assume we’re going to keep the oil.”
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has threatened Venezuela under the guise of fighting narco-terrorists. However, this latest action reveals a more important reason to attack the southern Caribbean country. The US has deployed military forces to the region, including the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, along with its strike group.
Earlier on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media that the seizure of the oil tanker had been carried out in coordination with the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States 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… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025
Bondi said the seized tanker was used to transport “sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran” and that it had been under sanctions for some years. In the accompanying video, armed figures can be seen lowering themselves onto the tanker from a helicopter.
Previously, the Trump administration carried out a series of lethal strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Moreover, the administration had identified Venezuela as the origin of the vessels. Around 22 boats have been attacked, killing an estimated 87 people.
Since the bombing campaign, Trump has threatened to continue by also pursuing strikes on the land. After the threats, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said the US wishes to topple his government.
Maduro has responded to the latest action by adding his own military buildup along the country’s coast, stating that his armed forces could resist a military attack from the US.
He has responded with his own military buildup along Venezuela’s coast and indicated his country’s armed forces would resist a military attack from the US. Oil exports are a major source of revenue for the country, which has exported over 900,000 barrels per day in the last month.
