Venezuela slammed the US seizure of an oil tanker off its coast as ‘blatant theft’ and ‘piracy’
by Dave DeCamp
December 11, 2025
The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions targeting six companies it accused of transporting Venezuelan oil, as Reuters reported that the Trump administration is gearing up to seize more oil tankers.
The US seizure of a tanker off the coast of Venezuela that was bound for Cuba on Wednesday marked a significant escalation of the US campaign against the country and was strongly denounced by Caracas.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said the US military operation was “blatant theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the President of the US, who confessed to the assault on an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea.”
When announcing its sanctions on Thursday, which also targeted three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, the Treasury Department also “identified” six tankers it said were moving Venezuelan oil, signaling the vessels may be targeted for seizure.
US officials told Reuters that the US plans to target more tankers in the coming weeks, and shipping sources told the outlet that many ship owners and operators involved in moving Venezuelan oil are reconsidering whether to depart Venezuela as planned in the coming days.
President Trump has said that the US will likely “keep” the Venezuelan oil that it seized. During the first Trump administration, the US stole shipments of Iranian gas that were bound for Venezuela by coercing shipping companies through threats of sanctions to bring the cargo to the US, where it was sold off.
The seizure of Venezuelan oil by military force marks an escalation of the US enforcement of sanctions on both Venezuela and Cuba, which have had a devastating impact on civilians in the two countries and have done nothing to change the governments in either country.
The US has continued its military buildup in the Caribbean and has made frequent military flights near the coast of Venezuela. A day before the tanker was seized, two US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets flew deep inside the Gulf of Venezuela.
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