US to bring seized tanker to American port, vows to take its oil; Venezuela decries ‘piracy’ as Russia signals support
The United States will bring an oil tanker seized off Venezuela to a US port and intends to confiscate the crude aboard, the White House said Thursday, signaling Washington could target additional sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.
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White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters the operation, carried out by the US military a day earlier, is part of a broader effort to disrupt illicit energy flows tied to sanctioned actors. “The vessel will go to a US port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” Leavitt said, adding that the government would follow “proper legal processes.” She did not rule out more actions against ships accused of trafficking black-market oil.
Washington has not publicly identified the tanker. However, UK-based maritime risk firm Vanguard said satellite imagery indicates the vessel is likely the crude carrier Skipper, which was sanctioned in 2022 for allegedly moving oil for Iran’s Quds Force and Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group backed by Iran.
Caracas condemned the seizure as an act of “international piracy,” intensifying a months-long standoff between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and a resurgent US pressure campaign. US officials have surged military assets to the Caribbean in recent months, prompting speculation the administration of President Donald Trump could pursue more aggressive steps against Venezuela.
The tanker operation comes alongside a separate US offensive against alleged maritime drug smuggling. Since Sept. 2, the White House has conducted 22 known strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 87 people, according to public tallies. The campaign has drawn outcry from rights advocates and legal experts who warn the actions risk violating international law. In recent appearances, Trump has threatened to expand the strikes to land targets, possibly on Venezuelan territory, to disrupt trafficking networks.
“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land too,” Trump said at a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting. “We know the routes they take. We know everything about them.”
Several analysts have pushed back on claims that Venezuela is a leading source of drugs entering the United States, arguing that other corridors account for the bulk of trafficking volumes. Maduro has cast the US posture as a regime-change effort aimed at toppling his government and prying open Venezuela’s vast oil reserves for Western companies — a charge US officials deny.
The geopolitical stakes widened Thursday as the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Maduro, expressing “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and backing Caracas’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty “in the face of growing external pressure.” Venezuela’s government said the leaders reaffirmed the “strategic, solid and growing” nature of their ties and pledged to keep direct communication channels open.
Venezuela’s alliances have thinned in the Americas in recent years, with Nicaragua and Cuba remaining its closest regional partners. Outside the hemisphere, Caracas maintains strong ties with Russia and China and has deepened cooperation with Iran amid shared opposition to US sanctions and policy.
The tanker episode underscores how overlapping sanctions regimes on Venezuela and Iran are increasingly intersecting at sea, complicating global oil flows and heightening the risk of maritime confrontations. By signaling a willingness to seize cargoes alongside ships, the US appears intent on denying sanctioned actors the proceeds of oil sales and deterring intermediaries who facilitate those trades.
Leavitt framed the move as part of a broader effort to curb illicit financing. “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.
The administration did not provide a timeline for the tanker’s arrival at a US port or details on the adjudication process for the seized crude. Venezuela has demanded the ship and its cargo be released, setting up a potential legal and diplomatic clash even as Washington hints that more interdictions could follow.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
