The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela announced on December 15, 2025, the immediate termination of all contracts, agreements, and negotiations for natural gas supply to Trinidad and Tobago, accusing the island nation of participating in a U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil from a vessel on December 10. The statement, shared via X posts from AZ_Intel_ and DarvinsonRojas, cited violations of international law and freedom of navigation. President Nicolás Maduro Moros previously denounced the Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago, according to the Venezuelan government statement. It blamed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for a hostile agenda, including hosting U.S. military radars to harass Venezuelan oil vessels and turning Trinidad and Tobago into a U.S. 'aircraft carrier' against Venezuela, as reported by multiple X accounts including AlbertoRodNews during the 3-hour reporting window from 4:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. UTC. Trinidad and Tobago granted approval for U.S. military aircraft to transit its airports amid rising tensions, as announced by CNC3TV on X and reiterated in new posts from AlbertoRodNews. This follows PDVSA's earlier report of a cyber attack blamed on the United States, with operations unaffected per Reuters. Satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 at 3:17 p.m. UTC on December 15 showed an increase from six to nine U.S. Air Force KC-135R Stratotankers at Las Américas Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, according to Flightwatcher1 on X. Additional U.S. military aircraft activity included a USAF E-11A BACN heading south over Florida toward the Caribbean from Warner Robins AFB, per FrozenFrequency, and a KC-130J approaching Roosevelt Roads, as noted by Arduengo787. Reuters reported that at least five supertankers canceled or changed course after the U.S. oil seizure, stranding over 11 million barrels and nearly halting PDVSA exports except for Chevron shipments, shared via X by UHN_Plus and victoramaya. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the hemisphere's primary threat is transnational terrorism, according to AlbertoRodNews, while the U.S. signed a military security agreement with Paraguay on organized crime.
