Trump says US has seized oil tanker off coast of Venezuela

An oil tanker being seized by US forces off the coast of Venezuela (U.S. Attorney General’s Office/X via AP)

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid mounting tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

It is the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Mr Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.

Mr Trump told reporters at the White House: “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually.”

US attorney general Pam Bondi posted grainy footage of the seizure on her X account (U.S. Attorney General’s Office/X via AP)

The President also said “other things are happening,” but did not offer additional details, saying he would speak more about it later.

The seizure was carried led by the US Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a US official.

A day earlier, the US military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country’s airspace since the start of the administration’s pressure campaign.

The US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Donald Trump has said land attacks are imminent (PA)

Mr Trump has said land attacks are coming soon, but has not offered any details on location.

Among the concessions the US has made to Mr Maduro during past negotiations was approval for oil giant Chevron Corp to resume pumping and exporting Venezuelan oil.

The corporation’s activities in the South American country resulted in a financial lifeline for Mr Maduro’s government.