The U.S. has seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions between the administration and the South American nation.
“It’s been a very interesting day, from the standpoint of news. As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said as he kicked off a roundtable event at the White House.
“Large tanker, very large, 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,” Trump continued.
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, December 10, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video on X appearing to show the seizure of the oil tanker, which she said was carried out by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard.
This screen grab from a video posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi, shows what Bondi says is the execution of “a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran” off the coast of Venezuela, Dec. 10. 2025.
@AGPamBondi/Xs
“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 said in the post.
FBI Director Kash Patel, also in a post on X, said U.S. authorities carrying out the seizure were executing a search warrant for the tanker off the coast of Venezuela “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.”
A U.S. military helicopter flies near an oil tanker during a raid in still image from a video released by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi during its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025.
@AGPamBondi/X
The oil tanker that was seized is referred to as a VLCC, or Very Large Crude Carrier, two sources told ABC News. VLCC’s are large oil tankers and can carry up to around 2 million barrels of oil.
The vessel was bound for Cuba, the sources said. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted the seizure, according to two sources.
A U.S. military helicopter flies near an oil tanker during a raid in still image from a video released by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi during its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025.
@AGPamBondi/X
Trump stayed mum when pressed for more details on the tanker during the roundtable event, but claimed it happened for “very good reason” and that photos would be released later.
When asked what happens to the oil on the ship, Trump said that the U.S. will likely keep it. Pressed further on who owns the tanker, Trump declined to respond.
Venezuela has the largest known oil reserves in the world, and oil exports are the government’s main source of revenue.
The U.S. hadn’t overtly interfered in oil exports during its pressure campaign on Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro’s regime until now.