An oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast will be brought to a port in the United States, the White House says, as fears mount of open conflict between the two countries.
US forces took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid in which they descended by ropes from a helicopter in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s “regime”.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months, with a major naval build-up in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for Venezuela yesterday during a phone call with his ally Maduro, but with Russian forces tied down in a grinding war in Ukraine, its capacity to provide aid is limited.
“The vessel will go to a US port and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of the tanker.
“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.”
Earlier yesterday, Noem told a congressional hearing that the tanker operation was “pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs” – a reference to US allegations of narcotics smuggling by Maduro’s government.
A video released on Wednesday by US Attorney-General Pam Bondi showed American forces descending onto the tanker’s deck, then entering the bridge with weapons raised.
Bondi said the ship was part of an “illicit oil-shipping network” carrying sanctioned oil.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the escalating tensions and urged restraint.
“We are calling on all actors to refrain from action that could further escalate bilateral tensions and destabilise Venezuela and the region,” his spokesperson said.
US media reported that the tanker had been heading for Cuba – another American rival – and that the ship was stopped by the US Coast Guard.
Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, questioned the legality of the tanker seizure and said that “any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorisation of the American people through Congress”.
“This president is preparing for an invasion of Venezuela, simply said. And if the American people are in favour of that, I’d be surprised,” Durbin told CNN.
The US has accused Maduro of leading an alleged “Cartel of the Suns”, which it declared a “narco-terrorist” organisation last month, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.
The US Treasury also imposed new sanctions yesterday, targeting three of Maduro’s relatives as well as six companies shipping Venezuelan oil.
Trump told Politico earlier this week that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and declined to rule out a US ground invasion of Venezuela.
The Trump administration alleges that Maduro’s hold on power is illegitimate and that he stole Venezuela’s July 2024 election.
Maduro, the political heir to former leftist leader Hugo Chavez, says the US is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
- Agence France-Presse