December 11, 2025
“For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing a joint U.S. operation Wednesday to seize an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.
What Happened: Attorney General Bondi said the vessel — the Skipper — carried sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran and served networks the U.S. has targeted with sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Skipper three years ago for its alleged role in an international oil-smuggling network that funneled funds to Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the operation aimed to combat drug trafficking and enforce sanctions laws. She also confirmed the U.S. intends to seize the oil aboard the vessel but noted, “There is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed.”
Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the action, saying: “This seizure raises even more questions about what this is all about. Trump has bombed random boats, amassed military ships and aircraft off the coast of Venezuela and promised land invasion—with no explanation or strategy.”
The seizure adds tension between the United States and Venezuela as the U.S. expands its military presence in the region. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto called the action “blatant theft” and claimed what he described as prolonged U.S. aggression “has always been about our natural wealth, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
Learn More:
- Noem says Coast Guard-led tanker seizure near Venezuela was ordered by Trump to combat drug trafficking (NBC News)
- What we know about The Skipper, the oil tanker seized by the U.S. near Venezuela (CBS News)
Image Credit: Attorney General Pam Bondi via X
by Stephanie Wagner, based in Florida
