Retired Adm. James Stavridis, former NATO allied supreme commander, is now reportedly applauding the Trump administration’s latest seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, calling the operation a textbook example of lawful, precise U.S. enforcement action. Stavridis, who once led U.S. Southern Command and oversaw military operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, laid out his assessment during an interview on CNN News Central — and his comments sharply undercut the narrative pushed by critics who claim the seizure is provocative or unlawful.
Stavridis highlighted the professionalism of the U.S. Coast Guard, which carried out the mission without a single casualty. “This is the U.S. Coast Guard. This is not Navy SEALs,” he noted. “These are the people that rescue you when you’re a boater on Memorial Day. Here they are dropping out of a helicopter and taking down this ship… from everything I can see, this operation was flawless.”
Calling the tanker a vessel “full of illegal oil,” Stavridis emphasized that the operation rests firmly on legal authority. “This is legal. This is a vessel under sanction. This is law enforcement doing it — that’s Coast Guard, they’re law enforcement,” he said, stressing that the crew can now be interrogated to determine the origins, purpose and network behind the sanctioned shipment.
He described the mission as “high-end tactical” and congratulated the Coast Guard for executing it with precision and restraint.
Stavridis acknowledged that some — including Sen. Rand Paul — have raised concerns that such seizures risk escalating tensions and could be perceived as steps toward war. But he said interpretation depends entirely on perspective. Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, he said, may view the seizure as “war,” but Washington can “legitimately say this is Law Enforcement 101.”
Beyond Caracas, Stavridis predicted that adversarial governments in Moscow, Tehran and Beijing will be “worried” because the operation clearly demonstrates that the United States has both the capability and willingness to shut down illegal oil flows tied to hostile regimes. “They’ll talk about it as piracy on the high seas,” he said — a predictable response from nations whose interests are disrupted by American enforcement.
Stavridis argued that the Trump administration’s actions show its campaign against Venezuela goes beyond stopping drug trafficking alone. The seizure is part of a broader strategic effort to choke off the Maduro regime’s financial lifelines.
“We are now seeing the layers of the onion open up,” he said, predicting continued boat strikes and more tanker seizures. Ultimately, he believes Maduro’s days are numbered. “If Maduro doesn’t wake up and jump out, that pot we’re boiling him in is going to get hotter and hotter,” he warned. “Sooner or later, that frog Maduro is going to jump out of that pot.”
The message is clear: while critics cry escalation, U.S. forces are enforcing the law, cracking down on illicit oil networks, and steadily tightening pressure on a hostile regime deeply intertwined with America’s adversaries.
[READ MORE: Poll Shows Ohio Governor’s Race Deadlocked as Acton Gains Ground and Ramaswamy Faces New Headwinds]
