US seizes tanker carrying Venezuelan oil in unprecedented escalation

An oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude was seized by US authorities off the Venezuelan coast, President Donald Trump said on December 10, pushing oil prices higher in what represents the most aggressive US move yet against Nicolás Maduro's government.

Speaking at the White House, Trump described the vessel as "a large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually" and warned that "other things are happening", signalling further action against the Maduro regime.

When asked what would happen to the oil, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess." He declined to identify the ship's owner but said it was "seized for a very good reason".

According to people familiar with the operation, the vessel was carrying Venezuelan crude when intercepted. The crew did not oppose the boarding and no one was injured.

Venezuela's government condemned the action in a statement, calling it "barefaced robbery and an act of international piracy" aimed at seizing the country's oil wealth.

“Trump’s attitude has made it clear that the policy of aggression against our country is part of a deliberate plan to plunder our energy wealth,” a Venezuelan Foreign Ministry statement said.

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard executed the operation with Pentagon support, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. She shared an unverified video on social media depicting armed personnel rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel.

Bondi said the tanker had been used for shipping "sanctioned oil" from Venezuela and Iran.

People briefed on the matter cited by the NYT identified the vessel as the Skipper, a very large crude carrier. The ship had taken on about 1.8mn barrels of Venezuela's Merey heavy crude at Jose, the country's main oil export terminal, in early December. According to CBS News, US authorities had previously sanctioned the tanker in 2022 over allegations it facilitated oil smuggling that funded Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.

Court documents authorising the seizure were issued roughly a fortnight ago and focused on the vessel's historical involvement in Iranian oil trafficking, one person said. At the time of interdiction, the ship was operating under a Latin American flag despite lacking registration there, with cargo destined for Asian markets.

According to Reuters, satellite data shows the tanker transferred approximately 200,000 barrels to another vessel near Curaçao, which was heading to Cuba, before US forces moved in.

Oil benchmarks rose following the announcement. Brent crude settled 27 cents, or 0.4 per cent, higher at $62.21 a barrel, whilst US West Texas Intermediate gained 21 cents to $58.46 per barrel.

The seizure represents Washington's first physical interdiction of Venezuelan oil cargo since 2019, when sanctions targeting the petroleum sector were imposed. The action follows Trump's significant military build-up in the Caribbean, where more than 15,000 US troops and multiple naval vessels, including the carrier Gerald R Ford, are now deployed.

Energy analysts warned the move could discourage maritime transport companies from accepting Venezuelan shipments. Venezuelan crude already trades at substantial discounts as it moves to China through third-party handlers to mitigate sanctions exposure.

People familiar with administration planning said further vessel seizures are under consideration as part of efforts to weaken the Maduro regime by constraining oil export revenues.

Jorge León, senior vice president at Rystad Energy, characterised the action as a "clear escalation from financial sanctions to physical interdiction" that "raises the stakes for Caracas and anyone facilitating its exports".

Venezuela depends heavily on petroleum revenues to finance government operations and import essential goods including food and medicine. Production has plummeted from over 3mn barrels per day two decades ago to roughly 900,000 b/d currently, reflecting years of poor management, international sanctions and endemic corruption at state oil company PDVSA, despite the country holding the world's largest proven reserves.

Chinese buyers now account for approximately 80% of Venezuelan crude exports. The remainder goes primarily to US refineries along the Gulf Coast and to Cuba.

Chevron, the only US major authorised to operate in Venezuela through a partnership with PDVSA, said its operations continue normally.

The seizure occurred on the same day Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, though she did not attend the ceremony. The firebrand opposition leader arrived in the Norwegian capital in the late hours of December 10, and delivered a press conference in the morning the next day.

“We need to cut the flows of financing for the regime's repressive system,” Machado stated in response to a reporter's question about the oil tanker seizure, adding that the “black oil market," along with drug and human trafficking, is a vital source of funding for “Maduro’s criminal structure.”

"We ask the international community to cut those [funding] sources, because the other regimes that support Maduro are very active and have turned our country into a safe haven for their operations in Latin America," she added.

Trump has greenlit CIA covert actions against Venezuela and repeatedly hinted at expanding military operations beyond sea-based interdictions to land strikes within Venezuelan borders. At the same time, the president has held phone conversations with Maduro, whose days he described as "numbered," about arranging a meeting.

The administration has conducted more than 20 strikes since September against vessels in Caribbean and Pacific waters allegedly transporting drugs, killing over 80 people. Questions about the legality of these operations have emerged from legal experts, who note the scarcity of publicly available evidence supporting the drug trafficking allegations.

White House officials have drafted various military scenarios including operations targeting Maduro directly and plans to take control of Venezuela's oil production facilities, though people close to Trump say he harbours doubts about pursuing regime change given the risk of operational failure.