Venezuela calls US takeover of oil tanker off its coast blatant theft
發佈日期: 2025-12-11 21:35
TVB News
The United States has seized an oil tanker that has been sanctioned off the coast of Venezuela, escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.
The Venezuelan government accused the US of blatant theft after the first known action by US President Donald Trump on a tanker since he ordered a massive military buildup in the region.
A US military helicopter approaches an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Commandos rappel down on to the deck, where they proceed to seize control of the ship.
British maritime group Vanguard later identified the vessel as Skipper, a Very Large Crude Carrier.
The Skipper had reportedly left the port of Jose last week carrying some 1.8 million barrels of Merey heavy crude, and transferring about 200,000 barrels near Curacao to another ship bound for Cuba.
The US has imposed sanctions on the tanker, saying it was involved in Iran oil trading when it was called Adisa.
Trump said: "As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually."
Trump was asked what will happen to the oil. He replied: "Well, we keep it, I guess."
Trump is pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, having raised the possibility of US military intervention.
It's the first seizure of Venezuelan oil cargo since US sanctions were first imposed in 2019.
Venezuela exported more than 900,000 barrels per day of oil last month, the third-highest monthly average this year.
It also comes after a series of US military strikes on suspected drug boats, resulting in dozens of deaths.
Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, on his weekly TV show, denounced the US action as "a blatant theft and international act of piracy", proudly announced by the US president.
Maduro took to the streets of Caracas to join his supporters after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was given her Nobel Peace Prize.
He mocked Machado, saying the Nobel Peace Prize was filled with blood and war. He did not mention anything about the Skipper being seized but fired up the crowd by alluding to potential US military action.
Maduro exclaimed: "No more Vietnam, no more Somalia, no more Iraq, no more Afghanistan, no more Libya."
Stop forever wars, he said. Stop imperial massacres.
