US troops seized a “very large” oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast on Wednesday, authorities said, the latest in a series of escalating military moves against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela and Iran protested at the act of "piracy" after the seizure of the tanker, which was allegedly being used to transport Iranian oil.
Forces from the US Coastguard rappelled from a helicopter on to the vessel's deck in broad daylight before commandeering the bridge at gunpoint, video released by US authorities showed.
“We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large – the largest one ever seized, actually,” President Donald Trump said at the White House.
“Other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who published a video of the operation on X, said the oil tanker had been under US sanctions for years and that it had been used to smuggle oil from Venezuela and Iran.
The tanker was part of an “illicit oil shipping network”, she said.
It “was seized for a very good reason”, Mr Trump added.
Venezuela responded by saying the seizure is an "act of international piracy".
The government, in a statement, alleged that the "policy of aggression" against Venezuela is part of a "deliberate plan to plunder our energy resources".
Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".
Iran's embassy in Caracas condemned the action as a "grave violation of international laws and norms" in a post on X on Thursday. It described it as an act of "piracy in the Caribbean Sea".
"The illegal move by the US government to seize a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea without any justified or legal reason constitutes a blatant violation of international laws and regulations, including the inviolable principle of freedom of the seas and navigation,” the embassy said.
It expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan government and people in defending their national sovereignty and absolute rights.
The takeover of the tanker comes as the Trump
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