US Seizes Venezuelan Oil Tanker off South American Coast, Trump Announces

Washington, D.C. — The United States has taken custody of a Venezuelan oil tanker operating off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said in a video message released on December 10, 2025. The brief announcement marked the first public acknowledgment of the operation and provided the only official detail that the vessel is now under U.S. control.

The statement appeared in a four-minute segment carried by ABC News Live under the title “President Trump announces seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker.” In the clip, the president confirmed that American authorities had executed the seizure but did not identify the ship, disclose the quantity or nature of its cargo, or specify the exact time and location of the action. The video offered no footage of the vessel or the operation and did not feature remarks by military, diplomatic or law-enforcement officials.

Trump’s comments were limited to acknowledging that the tanker had been “seized off the coast of Venezuela.” He provided no explanation of the legal framework invoked, the agency that led the mission, or the intended disposition of the ship and its crew. The administration also withheld information on whether the operation was conducted in territorial or international waters and did not clarify whether any personnel were detained or injured during the encounter.

At the time of the broadcast, no accompanying press release or supporting documentation had been distributed by the White House, the Department of Defense or the Department of State. Likewise, the president did not indicate whether U.S. courts had issued warrants related to the vessel or whether any charges would be pursued against the ship’s owners, operators or crew members. The absence of those details left unanswered questions about the jurisdiction under which the United States acted and the next procedural steps.

The Venezuelan government’s immediate reaction was not included in the ABC News Live segment, and no statements from officials in Caracas were referenced or played during the broadcast. Without further comment from either side, it remained unclear how Venezuelan authorities might respond diplomatically or legally to the loss of a domestically flagged tanker. The broadcast also did not mention whether Venezuela had lodged a formal protest, requested consultations or sought the vessel’s return.

Beyond the president’s on-camera remarks, ABC News Live aired no additional footage of the seizure, offered no satellite imagery of the tanker, and cited no independent confirmation from maritime tracking services. Viewers were therefore left without visual evidence of the ship’s position, condition or movements before or after U.S. forces intervened. The network did not report the tanker’s tonnage, its last port of call or the intended destination of its voyage.

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Key procedural issues—including where the ship might be escorted, which U.S. agency would store the cargo, and how long the vessel could be held—were not addressed. For guidance on standard maritime enforcement practices, the U.S. Coast Guard provides publicly available information on vessel seizures and related legal processes on its official website; however, no agency spokesperson appeared during the ABC News Live segment to confirm whether Coast Guard personnel took part in the operation.

As of the video’s release, the White House had not scheduled a follow-up briefing, and no timeline was given for disclosing further facts. The limited scope of information shared by the president left the status of the crew, the future of the cargo and the legal rationale for the action unresolved. Without additional documentation or statements from U.S. or Venezuelan authorities, the ramifications of the tanker’s seizure—and its potential impact on maritime traffic near Venezuela—remained uncertain.

Crédito da imagem: ABC News Live