Overview
- Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel said the vessel was part of an illicit oil-transport network used to support foreign terrorist organizations and to move sanctioned Venezuelan and Iranian crude.
- Video released by Bondi shows armed U.S. personnel fast-roping from a helicopter onto the ship and securing the bridge during a Coast Guard–led operation supported by the Navy and federal law-enforcement agencies.
- Venezuela condemned the seizure as a “brazen robbery” and an act of international piracy, arguing the U.S. is targeting its natural resources.
- Documents cited by AP identify the vessel as the Skipper, formerly Adisa, a ship previously sanctioned by the U.S., with records indicating a load of roughly two million barrels and links to shipments toward Cuba.
- President Trump confirmed the capture of what he called the largest tanker ever seized and signaled further measures, while analysts noted rising oil prices and warned of added risks to Venezuela’s export lifeline.