The oil tanker seized by the United States off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday was transporting sanctioned oil as part of “an illicit oil shipping network,” Attorney General Pam Bondi announced.
President Donald Trump announced the operation earlier Wednesday afternoon and told reporters that the tanker “was seized for very good reason.” Bondi later announced in an X post that the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of War coordinated the seizure. She said they executed the warrant “for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”
“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. 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,” Bondi said.
Bondi’s X post shows an unclassified video of U.S. personnel descending from a helicopter onto the tanker, identified in multiple reports as the Skipper and sailing under the flag of Guyana, and beginning to enter the ship.
FBI Director Kash Patel also posted about the operation on Wednesday afternoon, saying the Trump “administration’s efforts to crush FTO’s and cut off their resources will continue day and night,” referring to foreign terrorist organizations.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he predicted the U.S. would keep the oil seized from the tanker.
“Well, we keep it, I guess,” Trump said.
US SEIZED OIL TANKER OFF VENEZUELAN COAST: TRUMP
In August 2020, the Department of Justice announced the U.S. had seized over 1 million barrels of petroleum arranged by a designated FTO and bound for Venezuela. In a press release about the seizure, the department said the petroleum was transferred into U.S. custody.
Between issuing strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and mobilizing the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group off the coast of Venezuela, the Trump administration has significantly bolstered its military presence in the region throughout the past several months. Trump told Politico in an interview this week that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “days are numbered.”
, 2025-12-11 00:17:00, 
, Washington Examiner, %%https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon.png?w=32, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Molly Parks
