The seizure of the oil tanker Skipper comes as President Donald Trump has escalated pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks.

Venezuela condemns the operation as an act of "international piracy", vowing never to be an "oil colony".

The US seizure of a crude oil ship is the latest in a series of escalations in the Trump administration's pressure campaign on Venezuela.

The US seized an oil tanker, a move that sent oil prices higher and escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas.

The Skipper, a tanker sanctioned by the US in 2022, is thought to have been carrying 1.1m barrels of Venezuelan oil

A seized tanker accused of smuggling sanctioned oil has long hidden its true location. BBC Verify examines how.

The seizure of the oil tanker Skipper comes as President Donald Trump has escalated pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks.

The seizure of the Skipper on Wednesday marked the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019

Cuban officials denounce the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast. Key US politics stories from 13 December 2025