Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro on Thursday evening accused the United States of “stealing” the recently seized oil tanker — claiming the situation is “like Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Maduro further claimed the seized vessel was a “ship of peace.”
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, announced the U.S. military seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as it headed towards Cuba.
Although President Trump did not disclose details on the tanker, reports indicate that the vessel, named “Skipper,” is linked to past illicit Iranian oil smuggling and was transporting Venezuelan crude.
Maduro first publicly referred to the seized tanker on Thursday during one of his frequent regime broadcasts. Maduro claimed the incident ushers in a new era of “criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean.”
“Because yesterday they [The U.S.] committed an absolutely criminal and illegal act when they proceeded to carry out a military assault, kidnapping, and robbery like Pirates of the Caribbean on a merchant, commercial, civilian, private ship, a ship of peace,” Maduro said.
The Venezuelan dictator refuted President Trump’s remarks that the tanker was seized off the Venezuelan coast — and instead claimed, without evidence, that the vessel was “assaulted, almost reaching the Atlantic.”
“It was not off the coast of Venezuela, it was almost there, much further north of Trinidad and Tobago, towards the island of Grenada, already reaching the Atlantic,” Maduro said.
Maduro also claimed that the vessel was allegedly carrying 1.9 million barrels of oil to international markets that, according to him, were “paid for in Venezuela because everyone who extracts oil pays for it first.”
Referring to the tanker’s crew, Maduro claimed that they were “kidnapped,” are “missing,” and “no one knows where they are.”
“They kidnapped the crew. They stole the ship. And they have ushered in a new era. The era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean,” Maduro said. “Therefore, Venezuela rejects in its entirety this act of criminal piracy against the entire Caribbean.”
The dictator announced that he has already given instructions towards taking legal and diplomatic actions to “secure” all other ships and guarantee the “free trade of its oil to the world.”
This image from video posted on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s X account, and partially redacted by the source, shows an oil tanker being seized by U.S. forces off the coast of Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (U.S. Attorney General’s Office/X via AP)
Reuters, citing “six sources familiar with the matter,” reported on Friday that the United States is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil. According to one of the sources cited, the United States has assembled a “target list” of several more sanctioned tankers for possible seizure.
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to hold the seized tanker at an American port in Texas but release the crew.
“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.
Maduro regime officials claimed on Thursday that President Trump allegedly “confessed” to “stealing” the tanker through his remarks.
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