Overview
- Trump said the United States took control of a supertanker near Venezuela and will keep its cargo, while withholding the vessel’s identity, ownership, and destination.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship carried sanctioned oil linked to Venezuela and Iran and had been targeted for years over an illicit shipping network supporting foreign terrorist groups.
- Officials said the FBI executed the seizure with involvement from Homeland Security Investigations and the Coast Guard and with Defense Department support, releasing video of an armed boarding from a helicopter.
- Venezuela condemned the action as “shameless theft” and “piracy,” and President Nicolás Maduro demanded an end to what he called illegal U.S. interference.
- The move follows a reinstated U.S. oil embargo and stepped-up Caribbean interdictions, and analysts say it could deter buyers as EU purchases slide and most Venezuelan crude goes to China.