Trump steps up pressure on Maduro, seizes sanctioned oil ship off Venezuela coast

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The United States has seized the largest sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in a Coast Guard-led operation, as announced by Donald Trump.

This measure increases pressure from Washington on Nicolas Maduro and could make it even more difficult to export Venezuelan oil, the country’s main source of income.

Trump has ordered a massive deployment of military forces to the region, including an aircraft carrier and tens of thousands of troops, and has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela.

This seizure coincides with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado, who was unable to attend the ceremony in Oslo.

USA immobilized and confiscated this Wednesday an oil ship sanctioned off the coast of Venezuela in an operation led by the US Coast Guard, As the country’s president confirmed, Donald Trump.

As reported by the Republican during a press conference, This is the “largest oil tanker ever seized”. He also announced that “other things are happening”, without giving further details.

It is a new step which increases the pressure of the tycoon on his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduroafter months of tensions between Washington and Caracas due to the Trump administration’s military deployment in Caribbean waters under the pretext of putting an end to drug trafficking.

Trump: “It’s been an interesting day from a news standpoint. As you probably know, we just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In fact, it’s the largest ever seized. And other things are happening.” pic.twitter.com/wyOYMKCJTT

-Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 10, 2025

Even if the first information revealed by Bloomberg They do not detail the origin of the oil or the exact location where The interception has been carried out, everything seems to indicate that it is Venezuelan oil, the country’s main source of income.

The seizure could make exporting oil from Venezuela much more difficult, as other carriers will likely be more reluctant to board their cargoes, the aforementioned agency points out.

Nicolás Maduro last weekend during a march in Caracas.

Venezuela exported more than 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil last month, the third highest monthly average so far this year, thanks to state-owned PDVSA importing more gasoline to dilute its extra-heavy oil production.

PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company, is working on drilling projects with the US company Chevron, which has a Treasury license that exempts it from sanctions.

In addition to this action, which caused oil prices to skyrocket After listing in negative territory this Wednesday, Trump ordered a massive influx of troops into the region, including an aircraft carrier, fighter jets and tens of thousands of troops.

Since September, US armed forces have attacked more than twenty vessels allegedly laden with drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific – international waters – extrajudicially killing more than 80 crew members.

Additionally, Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of military intervention by land Venezuela, and assured that it would be “soon”.

Almost simultaneously, Maduro asked his citizens to be ready to “break your teeth” in the United States, if “it was necessary”. All this despite the fact that last week the two leaders had a telephone conversation that the Chavista leader described as “cordial and respectful”, a first step.for peace and the future of Venezuela”.

These events occur on the same day as the ceremony in Oslo for the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Venezuelan opponent María Corina Machado, who did not attend the event although she assured that she would arrive in the Norwegian capital in the coming hours and that she would appear in public to greet her.