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The seizure is set to escalate tensions between the US and Venezuela, both of which have surged military assets to the Caribbean region.
Published On 10 Dec 2025
The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, where President Donald Trump has been threatening military action for the last several months.
The news outlets Reuters and Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the US Coast Guard led an operation to commandeer the vessel, but no details have been released about its name and location. Trump confirmed the news shortly after.
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“We’ve just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela — large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said during an event at the White House. “And other things are happening. So you’ll be seeing that later, and you’ll be talking about that later with some other people.”
The Trump administration has ramped up threats against Venezuela, deploying considerable military forces to the Caribbean region. That includes the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, and its strike group to the southern Caribbean.
Under Trump, the US has also carried out a campaign of lethal strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. At least 22 vessels have been attacked, and an estimated 87 people have been killed.
Trump has repeated threatened to continue the bombing campaign by pursuing strikes on land as well.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that the US is seeking to topple his government.
A November Economist/YouGov poll found that only 17 percent of US adults support using military force to overthrow the Venezuelan government, with 45 percent opposed.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday also found that 48 percent of respondents expressed opposition to the administration’s targeting of alleged drug vessels, widely considered illegal under international law, without court approval. About 45 percent said that they generally supported using force near Venezuela to stem the flow of drugs, with 36 expressing opposition.
Maduro has responded to the US moves with his own military build-up along Venezuela’s coast and indicated his country’s armed forces would resist a military attack from the US. Oil exports are a key source of revenue for the South American country, which exported more than 900,000 barrels per day last month.
Oil futures rose following the seizure.
Al Jazeera correspondent Mike Hanna noted that information about the tanker seizure remains scarce.
“There aren’t many details about the seizure of this tanker, apart from the president’s confirmation,” said Hanna.
But, he added, the seizure is likely to escalate an already volatile situation in the Caribbean.
“This does mark a massive escalation in terms of US action against Venezuela. It has been reported that President Trump has been pondering for weeks now what kind of action to take in Venezuela and has been very clear that he is contemplating regime change,” he added.
More details to come…
