WASHINGTON: A tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast will be brought to a port in the United States and its oil seized, the White House said on Thursday, as fears mount of open conflict between the two countries.

Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s “regime”.

President Donald Trump’s administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months with a major naval build-up in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin expressed support during a phone call with his ally Maduro, but with Moscow’s forces tied down in a grinding war in Ukraine, its capacity to provide aid is limited.

“The vessel will go to a US port and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told journalists of the tanker.

“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.”

Earlier on Thursday, Noem told a congressional hearing that the tanker operation was carried out to ensure “we’re pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs” -- a reference to US allegations of narcotics smuggling by Maduro’s government.

A video released on Wednesday by US Attorney General Pam Bondi showed American forces descending from a helicopter onto the tanker’s deck, then entering the ship’s bridge with weapons raised.

‘Blatant theft’

Venezuela’s foreign ministry said it “strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy”.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the escalating tensions and urged restraint.

“We are calling on all actors to refrain from action that could further escalate bilateral tensions and destabilise Venezuela and the region,” his spokesperson said.

According to US media, the tanker had been heading for Cuba, another American rival, and that the ship was stopped by the coast guard.

Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate’s judiciary committee, said he questioned the legality of the tanker seizure and that “any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorisation of the American people through Congress”.

“This president is preparing for an invasion of Venezuela, simply said. And if the American people are in favour of that, I’d be surprised,” Durbin told CNN.

Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns”, which it declared a “narco-terrorist” organisation last month

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2025