Dozens of oil tankers carrying American-sanctioned crude are now reportedly crowding the waters off Venezuela, raising the likelihood of additional U.S. seizures after federal forces intercepted a sanctioned vessel in the Caribbean on Wednesday. According to Reuters, more than 80 tankers were either loading or waiting to load crude in Venezuelan waters — with over 30 of them already under U.S. sanctions.
The surge highlights how aggressively the Trump administration is enforcing measures designed to choke off revenue to Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
The latest seizure involved a tanker allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from both Venezuela and Iran. Attorney General Pam Bondi released footage of the operation on X, confirming that the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Pentagon executed a federal warrant against the ship. Bondi said the oil was tied to “an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” and emphasized that the U.S. investigation to prevent the movement of sanctioned crude “continues.”
The seizure marks a significant escalation in Washington’s campaign against Maduro, whom the State Department has long accused of leading a drug-trafficking terrorist network. The Trump administration has deployed U.S. military assets to the region — including warships, Marines, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft — to counter Maduro’s operations and deny revenue to the socialist regime. Since early September, the president has authorized more than 20 strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. In October, Trump confirmed he had also authorized the CIA to conduct operations inside Venezuela.
BREAKING: Following yesterday’s seizure of the oil tanker Skipper, the United States is preparing to intercept additional vessels transporting Venezuelan oil in the coming weeks, as Washington continues to ramp up pressure on Maduro’s regime, per Reuters.
The seized ship,… pic.twitter.com/jC8Xnyub28
— Knights OSINT (@KnightsOSINT) December 11, 2025
Not everyone in Congress supports the administration’s posture. Democratic lawmakers and Sen. Rand Paul, one of the few Republicans consistently critical of Trump’s foreign policy, told NewsNation they fear the tanker seizure could heighten tensions with governments across South America. Paul has frequently warned that aggressive U.S. actions may destabilize the region or lead to unintended military escalation.
The Maduro regime reacted with predictable outrage. In a translated statement, the Venezuelan government condemned the seizure as “a blatant theft and an international piracy.” Maduro’s officials vowed to “defend with absolute determination its sovereignty, its natural resources, and its national dignity,” despite presiding over a collapsed economy and relying heavily on illicit shipments to survive international sanctions.
For the Trump administration, however, the tanker interception is part of a larger strategy: cutting off the financial lifelines that keep Maduro in power and preventing oil revenues from flowing into networks linked to terrorism and transnational crime. With dozens of additional sanctioned tankers lingering offshore, more enforcement actions appear likely.
As federal agencies tighten their grip, the confrontation between Washington and Caracas is poised to intensify — with significant implications not only for Venezuela’s embattled regime but for regional stability and America’s ongoing effort to dismantle criminal oil-trafficking networks.
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