The United States has seized a massive oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday, according to CBS News.
Bloomberg first reported the seizure, which Trump described during a White House roundtable as “seized for a very good reason.”
“As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large,” Trump said. “Largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later and you'll be talking about that later with some other people.”
Asked what would happen to the oil, Trump replied, “Well we keep it, I guess. I assume we're going to keep the oil.”
The vessel, identified as The Skipper, was taken in an operation at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday involving two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members, 10 Marines, and special operations forces.
According to US officials, The Skipper was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2022 for ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. Previously known as Adisa, the 20-year-old tanker also sailed under the name The Toyo in 2005.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released video of the operation, writing that the tanker was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran” and was seized by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Coast Guard “with support from the Department of War.”
“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,” Bondi stated.
Senior officials said the Trump administration is weighing additional missions similar to Wednesday’s seizure. Trump has also threatened to expand the US campaign of strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific to land targets in Venezuela.