U.S. seizes Venezuelan oil tanker in helicopter raid, to bring ship to American port as tensions spike with Maduro
U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela in a helicopter-borne operation and will bring the vessel to a U.S. port to confiscate its cargo, the White House said, escalating a fast-moving standoff with President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
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The dramatic interdiction—described by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as aimed at the “regime” in Caracas—was captured in video released by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi showing armed personnel roping onto the ship’s deck and entering the bridge.
“The vessel will go to a U.S. port and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she said.
People familiar with the operation said the U.S. is preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan oil, underscoring a broader effort to tighten enforcement as Washington intensifies sanctions on Maduro’s inner circle and the country’s petroleum exports.
The Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting three of Maduro’s relatives and six tankers linked to Venezuelan oil shipments. Bondi said the seized tanker was part of an “illicit oil shipping network” designed to move sanctioned crude.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry condemned the action as “blatant theft and an act of international piracy,” while the United Nations urged restraint. Secretary-General António Guterres is “calling on all actors to refrain from action that could further escalate bilateral tensions and destabilize Venezuela and the region,” a spokesperson said.
Noem, testifying on Capitol Hill, framed the operation as part of a wider campaign “pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs”—a reference to U.S. allegations that Maduro and his allies are tied to narcotics smuggling. Washington has accused Maduro of leading the so-called “Cartel of the Suns,” designated a “narco-terrorist” organization last month, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for Maduro during a call between the two leaders, according to officials, though Moscow’s ability to provide material aid is constrained by its war effort in Ukraine.
U.S. media reported the tanker had been en route to Cuba and was stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard before being turned over to American forces for seizure. The White House declined to provide operational details beyond confirming the ship is being brought to a U.S. port.
In Washington, the action drew immediate legal and political scrutiny. Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he questioned the legality of the seizure and warned that “any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorisation of the American people through Congress.” He added on CNN, “This president is preparing for an invasion of Venezuela, simply said. And if the American people are in favour of that, I’d be surprised.”
President Donald Trump told Politico earlier this week that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and declined to rule out a U.S. ground invasion of Venezuela. The administration maintains Maduro’s rule is illegitimate and alleges he stole Venezuela’s July 2024 election. Maduro, the political heir to the late Hugo Chávez, counters that Washington is bent on regime change and wants to seize the OPEC nation’s vast oil reserves.
The seizure and the newly announced sanctions mark a high-stakes turn in the U.S.-Venezuela confrontation, with the prospect of more maritime interdictions to come. For now, the tanker is headed to U.S. waters as the administration signals it intends to prosecute an expansive crackdown on Venezuelan oil flows and those who help move them.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
