Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the sanctioned vessel was carrying oil from Venezuela and Iran
The United States has confiscated an oil tanker accused of moving oil from Venezuela and Iran, Attorney General Pam Bondi declared.
This operation occurred during an increase in U.S. military presence in the area and attacks on vessels Washington labeled as cartel boats.
“Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran,” Bondi posted on X this Wednesday.
Bondi explained the ship was under sanctions “due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
Video shared by Bondi depicts heavily armed officers rappelling onto the tanker from a helicopter.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi)
Several news organizations named the vessel as The Skipper, which was flying the Guyanese flag, as per the MarineTraffic tracking site. ABC News reported the tanker, capable of holding up to 2 million barrels of oil, was headed to Cuba.
The United States imposed sanctions on The Skipper in 2022 over accusations it smuggled oil to aid Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dismissed Trump’s allegation that his administration participated in drug trafficking and cautioned Washington against initiating “a crazy war.”
A number of U.S. lawmakers recently demanded a probe into strikes on over 20 boats since September, contending they could be war crimes.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons said on MSNBC Tuesday that Trump was “sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela.” He contended the ex-president’s real goal was to secure access to Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth.