The U.S. Seized an Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Venezuela. So, What's Next?https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2025/12/11/heres-what-we-know-about-the-oil-tanker-seized-off-venezuelas-coast-n4946952As we reported on Wednesday, the United States seized a large oil tanker about 100 mile off the coast of Venezuela, ramping up the pressure against Nicolás Maduro and his illegitimate narco-regime. Donald Trump confirmed the news during a meeting at the White House, stating that it was "a large tanker...the largest one ever seized actually."
It's the first time the U.S. has seized Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions began in 2019. On Wednesday evening, Attorney General Pam Bondi released further details, including a video of the mission that she posted on X. She said:
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.
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The ship itself was registered to Triton Navigation, a corporation registered in the Marshall Islands. In 2022, the Treasury Department sanctioned it for supporting Iran’s Hezbollah's oil smuggling network. Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., a Nigerian-based firm, acts as beneficial owner and operator for Triton. The ship flies a Guyana flag, but Guyana's Maritime Administration says it knows nothing about it. The ship also spent a portion of the last couple of years spoofing its AIS signal, making it harder to track. For example, it would claim it was in Guyana when it was really in Venezuela.
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According to Reuters' sources, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have a target list of ships and have been planning this operation for months. ...
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The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is "targeting Nicolas Maduro’s illegitimate regime in Venezuela, sanctioning three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores; a Maduro-affiliated businessman; and six shipping companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector. Additionally, OFAC is identifying six associated vessels that have engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s corrupt narco-terrorist regime."
One way of looking at this is that Trump is conducting an undeclared war against Venezuela. A response to this claim that I find persuasive is that Trump is actively counter-attacking an asymmetric undeclared war by Venezuela and partners against the US.
