PRESIDENT Donald Trump said Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, the U.S. military seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said at a White House event.
A Bloomberg report, citing a senior U.S. official, said U.S. forces carried out a “judicial enforcement action on a stateless vessel” last docked in Venezuela.
The report said international oil prices moved higher on news of the seizure, with Brent crude climbing as much as 0.8 percent in London trading.
Trump reiterated the U.S. military will start strikes on land targeting drug traffickers in the Caribbean “very soon,” escalating tension between the United States and Venezuela.
The Pentagon carried out at least 22 known strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing at least 87 people aboard.
Washington deployed about a dozen warships, including the major aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, and about 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea. The region has not seen such a massive U.S. military presence in at least three decades.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned Washington’s actions as attempts to overthrow his government and expand U.S. military influence in Latin America. / XINHUA