U.S. military forces seized a massive oil tanker controlled by a sanctioned Russian oligarch off the coast of Venezuela Wednesday in a dramatic raid.
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela — a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually,” Trump announced. “And other things are happening. So you’ll be seeing that later, and you’ll be talking about that later with some other people.”
The vessel, identified as The Skipper, is controlled by Viktor Artemov, a Russian oligarch was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022 for overseeing a vast network of shell companies used to smuggle Iranian oil on behalf of Iran and Hezbollah.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released dramatic video footage showing U.S. forces rappelling from military helicopters onto the illegal tanker while it was in international waters.
Take a look at the dramatic video and Bondi’s statement —
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… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025
The operation was launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which has been stationed in the Caribbean for weeks as part of a broader U.S. military buildup in the region. The mission involved two helicopters, special operations forces, and 10 members of the U.S. Coast Guard’s elite Maritime Security and Response Team.
The seizure occurred in international waters and proceeded without incident or casualties among U.S. personnel or the tanker’s crew, according to a senior U.S. official.
The operation began Wednesday morning after the vessel departed port in Venezuela carrying approximately 2 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude oil.
The tanker is among a shadow fleet controlled by Artemov’s criminal network, according to the Treasury Department’s 2022 sanctions announcement. The massive oil tanker is 20 years old and was one of the world’s largest when built in 2005, and was sailing under a false Guyanese flag but is not registered in Guyana.
On November 18, satellite images showed the vessel docked at in Venezuela. However, its Automatic Identification System transponder indicated a location approximately 560 miles away off the coast of Guyana — a common tactic used by shadow fleet vessels to evade detection.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not directly address the seizure during a speech Wednesday but said his military is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”
The seizure is the Trump administration’s most aggressive action yet against communist Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy. The U.S. has spent months building up military forces in the Caribbean, including deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, conducting strikes on suspected drug boats, and threatening land operations inside Venezuela.
Trump has repeatedly warned he could expand the military campaign beyond maritime drug interdiction.
“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too,” Trump warned. “You know, the land is much easier … And we know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we’re going to start that very soon, too.”
The U.S. military has killed nearly 90 suspected narco-terrorists in strikes that destroyed 23 alleged drug smuggling boats as part of the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean operations. Trump has offered a $50 million reward for Maduro’s arrest, citing narco-terrorism charges filed against the Venezuelan leader during Trump’s first term in 2020.
Additional tanker seizures are possible in the coming weeks as the administration applies maximum pressure on Maduro.