The US seized an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude in what President Trump called the largest such operation ever, prompting Caracas to condemn the action as piracy.
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that US forces had seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's confrontation with President Nicolás Maduro's government.
"We have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a large, very large oil tanker, the largest ever seized, in fact," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It was seized for a very good reason."
Trump said "other things are going on" but declined to provide further details, saying he would discuss the matter later.
Venezuela's foreign ministry condemned the action as "blatant theft and an act of international piracy," claiming it exposed Washington's true motives.
"Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed," the ministry said in a statement.
"It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy and the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people."
Seizure raises tensions to a new high
The seizure intensifies pressure on Maduro, whom Washington has charged with narcoterrorism. A US official said the operation was led by the Coast Guard with Navy support.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted video on social media showing Coast Guard personnel descending by rope from helicopters onto the vessel's deck and moving through the ship's superstructure with weapons drawn.
The tanker, identified in US media as the Skipper, left Venezuela around 2 December carrying approximately 2 million barrels of heavy crude, according to documents from state oil company PDVSA. About half the cargo reportedly belonged to a Cuban state-run oil importer.
Ship tracking data shows the vessel was previously named M/T Adisa and was sanctioned by the US in 2022 for allegedly belonging to a network of shadow tankers smuggling crude for Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.
The US Treasury Department said at the time the network was operated by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader.
The US military flew two fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday in what appeared to be the closest approach by US combat aircraft to Venezuelan airspace since the administration's pressure campaign began.
Washington has deployed its largest military presence in the region in decades and conducted strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Trump has said ground attacks are planned but has not provided details on location or scope.
Maduro and Trump spoke by telephone late last month, which the Venezuelan leader described as a potential opening for "respectful dialogue."