President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in a major escalation in the tension between the two countries.
“We just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela. A large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said.
He commented on the top of a roundtable he was hosting at the White House on Wednesday.
The president, 79, did not give any details on what led to the tanker being seized but said there would be talk of that “later.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a video of the seizure after the roundtable, insisting the act was “conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.”
Asked about it by a reporter moments later, Trump said it was seized for “very good reason” and suggested that pictures would be released.
His remarks came after Bloomberg reported the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast.
Trump suggested on Wednesday that the U.S. would keep the oil. He would not say who the tanker’s owner is, and it is not clear where the tanker was headed.
China is the main buyer of Venezuelan oil, largely indirectly to avoid sanctions.
The U.S. has been ramping up its military presence in the Caribbean as it puts more pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The Pentagon has carried out a series of strikes on alleged drug boats in the region, killing more than 80 suspects. It claims the alleged traffickers are flooding the U.S. with drugs, but has failed to provide evidence in many cases that the boats were carrying drugs or headed toward the U.S.
Trump has suggested that land strikes would be next and has claimed that Maduro’s days “are numbered.”
In another escalation last month, the president also told airlines that Venezuela’s airspace should be closed.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The Coast Guard and State Department referred the matter to the White House. The Daily Beast reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for more information.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been demanding answers about the U.S. strikes on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela on September 2, after the Pentagon carried out a second strike killing two survivors. Critics raised questions over whether the U.S. military had engaged in war crimes.
Top Democrats have been demanding the video of the strikes, shown to some lawmakers during briefings, be released for all members of Congress to view. Others have called for the unedited video to be made public.
Asked about releasing video, Trump previously said he had “no problem” releasing what they had, but he has since backtracked and distanced himself from it, leaving the decision to release the video to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The top Trump official told lawmakers this week that releasing the video remains under review.
When asked on Wednesday if Hegseth told the president why he has not yet released the video of the second strike, Trump said no.
“I thought that issue was dead,” the president said.
