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US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela coast, Trump says

U.S. forces fast rope onto an oil tanker during a raid described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025, in a still image from video.  (U.S. Attorney General/Handout)
U.S. forces fast rope onto an oil tanker during a raid described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025, in a still image from video.  (U.S. Attorney General/Handout)
By Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Joey Garrison USA TODAY

WASHINGTON ‒ The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid a monthslong buildup of military forces surrounding the country, President Donald Trump confirmed on Dec. 10.

“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said at a meeting at the White House.

“Largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening,” the president said. “I assume we’re going to keep the oil” from the ship, he added later.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a statement shortly after Trump’s remarks, said the FBI and other federal agencies, with support from the Pentagon, executed a seizure warrant for the crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.

Bondi posted a video on X showing U.S. helicopters hovering over the ship and service members fast roping  down ropes to board.

“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,” Bondi said. “This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely ‒ and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.”

Three people with knowledge of the matter said the cargo on board was owned by a businessman with ties to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and the boat was bound for Cuba.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

It comes after the United States has built up military forces around Venezuela for months in a pressure campaign by the Trump administration to remove Maduro.

U.S. Southern Command and the Pentagon referred USA TODAY to the White House for comment.

Separately, the U.S. military has launched 22 strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 87 people, including some Venezuelans. Critics have called the strikes, which have not been approved by Congress, illegal and said they amount to extrajudicial assassinations.

Trump and his officials have said Maduro is the leader of a criminal enterprise called Cartel de los Soles. Experts have told USA TODAY that Cartel de los Soles is a loose network of corruption and not a real drug trafficking organization.

Maduro and other top Venezuelan officials were indicted on drug trafficking and corruption charges in 2020.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Venezuela for two decades. Late last month, the Trump administration declared Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization, paving the way for heavy sanctions against it and any entities with which it does business.

In July, the Trump administration walked back a February move to cut off U.S. oil giant Chevron from doing business in Venezuela.