The video shows heavily armed members of the US military on the deck of the vessel taking control of the oil tanker.

By Joe Lombardi From Daily Voice

A dramatic video shows US forces seizing a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in what President Donald Trump called the "largest one ever seized" in a major escalation of the conflict between the two nations.

Trump announced the successful seizure on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 10, at a White House roundtable event, telling reporters, "We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large one… the largest one ever seized actually." When asked what now happens to the oil on the tanker, Trump replied, "Well, we keep it, I guess."

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted the 45-second clip on social media, showing heavily armed US military personnel fast-roping from helicopters onto the moving vessel’s deck. She said the operation was carried out by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Coast Guard, with backing from the Department of War.

Officials say the tanker, identified as the Skipper (formerly named Adisa), had been under US sanctions.

"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," Bondi stated.

Armed US military personnel fast-roped from helicopters on to the vessel's deck.

Armed US military personnel fast-roped from helicopters on to the vessel's deck.

US DOJ

The US Treasury first sanctioned the Skipper in 2022, citing its role in shipping Iranian oil and providing funds for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hezbollah, both labeled as foreign terrorist organizations by the US. The seizure was authorized under counterterrorism executive orders targeting Iran’s oil sector.

The vessel was reportedly carrying Venezuelan Merey heavy crude bound for Cuba, with cargo allegedly owned by a businessman tied to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In an interview with Politico this week, Trump said Maduro's "days are numbered."

Bondi said the seizure was conducted "safely and securely."

The action comes as US forces have stepped up operations in the Caribbean, part of ongoing pressure on the Maduro regime. Venezuelan officials have not yet commented on the seizure.

Since early September 2025, the US military campaign against alleged "narco-terrorist" boats has involved at least 22 strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, resulting in a total of at least 87 deaths. 

A controversial follow-up, so-called "double-tap" strike on a vessel on Wednesday, Sept. 2, killed the only two survivors of the initial attack. The Pentagon has been under bipartisan pressure to release a video of that incident.

Although Colombia has traditionally been a strong US ally, its President Gustavo Petro has been a vocal critic of the US military strikes, calling them "an act of tyranny" and suggesting US officials should be prosecuted for "murder." 

Trump warned on Wednesday that Colombia "could be next" for US military action if its government continues to be seen as failing to stop drug production and trafficking, adding that Petro has said "some not nice things."

Check back to Daily Voice for updates.