BREAKING: US seizes tanker off the coast of Venezuela

The United States seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. The ship had previously been sanctioned for being part of ilicit Iranian oil trades. The move immediately pushed oil prices higher and signaled that Washington is prepared to tighten its grip on Venezuela’s energy sector.

Trump mentioned the operation during remarks after a roundtable discussion Wednesday, saying, “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening.” When asked what would happen to the oil on the ship, Trump responded, “we keep it, I guess.”

US officials confirmed, according to JP, the interdiction but spoke anonymously because the operation has not been publicly outlined. They said the mission was carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard. The officials did not identify the vessel or clarify which flag it was operating under at the time of the seizure.

The ship flew under a different name, Adisa, when it had been previously sanctioned.

The action comes as Trump has ordered a sizable American military deployment in the Carribean, including an aircraft carrier and additional air and naval assets. There are over 15,000 US troops in the Caribbean and some 11 ships. The Trump administration has been actively trying to wipe out the drug trade in the region and has been targeting narco-terrorists on small drug boats.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday that the narco-terrorists were the al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere and that they would be treated as such. Blowing ships out of the water has been a controversial move to Democrats in Congress. 

Oil markets reacted quickly. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $62.21 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude also climbed, finishing the day at $58.46 per barrel.