On December 10, 2025, the United States moved decisively and seized a very large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a clear escalation in the campaign to choke off funding for Nicolás Maduro’s criminal regime. This was not a stunt — it was a law enforcement and national security operation aimed at vessels that flout U.S. sanctions and enrich tyrants and terrorist-linked networks.
Video released by U.S. officials shows Coast Guard and other federal agents fast-roping onto the deck and taking control of the ship, an operation handled with precision and without loss of life. Attorney General Pam Bondi and multiple agencies were involved, underscoring that this was a lawful, whole-of-government effort to enforce American sanctions and protect our hemisphere.
The tanker, identified as the Skipper, was reportedly carrying roughly 1.8 to 2 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude, with about half of that cargo tied to a Cuban state importer — proof the Maduro axis was shipping stolen Venezuelan wealth to prop up hostile governments. Cutting off these illicit shipments directly hits the cash flow that sustains Maduro’s tyranny and his partners abroad.
Importantly, this vessel isn’t some innocent freighter; it has a documented history of illicit activity and was previously sanctioned for participating in networks that trafficked oil on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. Americans shouldn’t tolerate our energy being used to bankroll terrorism and regional destabilization, and the Justice Department’s action sends a message that silent complicity ends now.
Predictably, Caracas cried “piracy” and staged outrage, but let’s be clear: a dictator who rigs elections and launders his nation’s oil to pay cronies and terror proxies has no moral high ground. When regimes weaponize natural resources and criminalize commerce to prop up dictatorship, it is America’s duty to defend liberty, free trade, and the rule of law in the Western Hemisphere.
This seizure fits into a broader, necessary campaign to disrupt drug trafficking and oil-smuggling that fund Maduro and his allies — a campaign that has included targeted maritime actions and stepped-up sanctions. Conservatives should applaud enforcement that protects our borders and starves the narco-tyrants of revenue while pushing back against the contagion of authoritarianism in our backyard.
If the administration truly intends to keep illegal cargo seized from those who abuse the seas and break our laws, then hardworking American families benefit not only from enhanced security but from the message it sends: we will not tolerate foreign kleptocrats stealing resources from their people and using them against freedom. Now is the time to stand firm, keep applying pressure, and make clear that America will defend its interests and allies against tyranny and narcoterrorism.
