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

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

Unease grows in Washington, including among some Republicans, over Trump administration’s escalating military posture in the Caribbean

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

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in a major escalation of Donald Trump’s campaign against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, whose government…

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

Oil tanker movements in and out of Venezuelan waters come to near standstill after US seizes vessel and fuel cargo.

Cuban foreign ministry called US military action ‘maritime terrorism’ under a policy of ‘economic suffocation’

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

Trump said US armada ‘will only get bigger’ until Venezuela returns ‘all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us’ – key US politics stories from 16…