The United States has intensified its pressure campaign against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, announcing fresh sanctions on six vessels allegedly transporting Venezuelan oil—just a day after seizing a sanctioned tanker off the country’s coast.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the intercepted ship, Skipper, had been engaged in “illicit oil shipping” and would be taken to a US port following legal processes. Caracas condemned the operation as an act of “international piracy,” accusing Washington of attempting to steal its natural resources.
The seizure represents one of the most dramatic moves in a years-long US effort to choke off what it calls Maduro’s “illegitimate regime.” It comes amid a wider American military buildup in the Caribbean Sea, including the deployment of thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
Leavitt insisted Washington remained committed to halting the flow of illegal drugs and enforcing sanctions. “We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she said.
She declined to say whether more seizures were planned.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later announced sanctions on three nephews of Maduro’s wife, alongside businesses and additional ships linked to the Venezuelan state. The move, he said, was aimed at dismantling Maduro’s “dictatorial and brutal control.”
In a post on X, Bessent wrote that Washington was “holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes.”
The White House also released video of the Skipper raid, showing camouflaged US soldiers descending from a helicopter and sweeping the deck at gunpoint. Venezuelan officials reacted furiously.
Maduro accused the US of “kidnapping the crew” and “stealing the ship”, warning that Washington had ushered in a “new era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean.”
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello branded the US “murderers, thieves, pirates,” saying such actions were how America “started wars all over the world.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US—an allegation Caracas rejects. Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, says Washington is seeking to seize control of its energy wealth. Maduro vowed this week that Venezuela would never become an “oil colony.”
The Skipper was previously sanctioned in 2022 for its alleged role in oil smuggling that generated revenue for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, according to US reports.
As both sides trade accusations, tensions in the region continue to rise, raising fears of further confrontation as Washington tightens sanctions and increases its military footprint near Venezuelan waters.
Melissa Enoch
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