The United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, marking a dramatic escalation in his administration’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela.
“As you probably know, we have just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said during a White House event on a new luxury visa programme.
Trump declined to say who owned the tanker. But when asked about the ship’s oil, he said: “Well, we keep it, I guess.”
Meanwhile, hours after Trump's statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a video in a post in X and said that the government executed a seizure warrant on a tanker headed from Venezuela and Iran.
"Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran."
"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. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues," she added.
A video posted by Bondi showed armed operators descending ropes from helicopters onto the deck of the vessel before entering what appeared to be the bridge.
The reports came two days after Trump declined to rule out deploying troops in an interview with POLITICO.
In the interview, Trump repeatedly declined to rule out sending troops to bring down Maduro, whom he accused of exporting drugs and criminals to the United States.
Since then, the administration restored sanctions, bolstered the US military presence in the Caribbean and used lethal force against vessels it alleged were trafficking drugs in concert with the Venezuelan military. Officials said the measures aimed to pressure Maduro to cede power to the opposition.
How the market reacted?
According to the NBC, as soon as the reports being circulated online, the oil prices began steadily rising, climbing more than 1.3% or about 75 cents, as of 3:45 p.m. ET.
US crude prices jumped 1 percent Wednesday afternoon, to just under $59 a barrel.
As per the reports from Politico, the seizure could put pressure on shippers to stop taking Venezuelan crude, potentially tightening global oil supplies. U.S. crude prices jumped 1 percent Wednesday afternoon, to just under $59 a barrel.
Trump, who has repeatedly pointed to declining gasoline prices amid voters’ complaints about the rising cost of living, repeated his claim Wednesday that gasoline prices had dropped to $1.99 a gallon, though data collected by the American Automobile Association put the national average slightly below $3 per gallon.
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