US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela, Trump warns 'other things are happening'. Watch video
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela, Trump warns 'other things are happening'. Watch video")
This screen grab from a video posted by US Attorney General Pam Bondi on her X account on December 10, 2025 shows what Bondi says is the execution of "a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran" off the coast of Venezuela on December 10. Photograph: (AFP)
US has seized a massive oil tanker off Venezuela, which Trump said was the “largest one ever” taken. Caracas slammed Washington, crying piracy and theft as US troops stormed the ship by helicopter.
The United States has seized a large oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday (Dec 10), triggering an angry response from Caracas, which called the move "blatant theft" and an act of piracy. Trump made the announcement during a White House roundtable with business leaders, saying the vessel was the biggest tanker ever seized by the US. US Attorney General Pam Bondi later shared a video showing troops rappelling from a helicopter onto the deck of the tanker before entering its bridge with weapons drawn. This comes amid a huge US military buildup in the Caribbean, which Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro claims is aimed at regime change in the country.
Other things happening: Trump
Talking to the press, Trump offered few details of the tanker seizure but hinted that more actions were underway. "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large -- the largest one ever seized, actually," he said, adding, "And other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later."
Posting a video of the seizure, Bondi, on X, said the ship was part of an "illicit oil shipping network" used to transport sanctioned crude from Venezuela and Iran. Watch video here:
Venezuela slams the US
Venezuela's foreign ministry reacted swiftly, accusing Washington of carrying out an act of international piracy. In a statement, it said that it "strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the President of the United States."
American media reported that the tanker was bound for Cuba and was intercepted by the US Coast Guard.
Machado's Nobel Peace Prize
The move also landed just a day before Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was due to address the world from Oslo after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Machado has been in hiding for months following threats to her life. While she missed the formal ceremony, she is expected to appear at a press conference in Norway on Thursday.
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Trump warned Caracas against detaining Machado if she attempts to return home. "I don't like if she would be arrested, I wouldn't be happy with it," he said when asked about the possibility of her arrest.
In a speech read by her daughter at the Nobel ceremony, Machado accused Maduro of running a system of "state terrorism" and urged Venezuelans to continue resisting his rule.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas have been rising for weeks. The Trump administration has deployed warships, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, to the region and has carried out deadly strikes on more than 20 alleged drug boats, killing at least 87 people.
