Venezuela condemns US oil tanker seizure as ‘international piracy’

Venezuela on Wednesday condemned the US seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker off its coast, calling it an “act of worldwide piracy”.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela strongly denounces and rejects what constitutes blatant theft and an act of worldwide piracy, publicly introduced by the President of america, who confessed to the assault on an oil tanker within the Caribbean Sea,” the federal government mentioned in a press release. official communiqué.

The assertion, printed by Correo del Orinoco, a state information outlet that often publishes the Venezuelan authorities’s official bulletins, framed the seizure as a part of a broader marketing campaign in opposition to the nation’s sovereignty and pure assets.

Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi mentioned that in a joint operation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Safety Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard, with help from the Battle Division, a seizure warrant was executed for a crude oil tanker allegedly used to move sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.

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American troops have been seen getting into the ship with weapons drawn. (@AGPamBondi by way of X)

“The oil tanker has been sanctioned by america for a number of years for its involvement in a bootleg oil transportation community that helps international terrorist organizations,” she mentioned on

Bondi launched unclassified video footage of the operation, which confirmed a helicopter approaching the massive tanker and tactical personnel warding off utilizing a rope on the deck.

Newly launched footage reveals US forces securing a Venezuelan oil tanker. (@AGPamBondi by way of X)

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President Donald Trump introduced the seizure Wednesday throughout a White Home roundtable with enterprise leaders.

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“As you in all probability know, we simply seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela. A big tanker, very massive, the biggest ever seized,” Trump informed reporters. ‘And different issues occur. So you may see that later, and you may discuss to another folks about that later.”

President Donald Trump appears to be like on throughout a roundtable dialogue within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP by way of Getty Photographs)

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“It was seized for an excellent motive,” he later added.

When requested by a reporter what would occur to the oil on board the tanker, Trump replied: “Properly, we’ll hold it, I suppose.”

A short while later he mentioned, “I suppose we’ll hold the oil.”