The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of Defense, executed a seizure warrant for the crude oil tanker 'The Skipper' off Venezuela's coast on December 10, 2025, targeting its role in transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran to support foreign terrorist organizations, according to an official statement shared via X by Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs in the 28-minute reporting window ending at 10:45 p.m. UTC. CBS News reported via X posts by Jim LaPorta, Richard Escobedo, and Ellee Watson during the window that the operation began around 6 a.m. local time, involving two helicopters carrying 10 Marines and 10 Coast Guard personnel launched from a US military vessel, with the tanker sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 for ties to Iran's IRGC and Hezbollah; sources indicated the Trump administration is contemplating additional similar missions. The Wall Street Journal stated via an X post by Jake Lookner in the reporting window that the seizure occurred hours after the US facilitated Venezuelan opposition leader MarĂa Corina Machado's escape from the country on a boat, according to the article. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded by dancing to 'Don't Worry Be Happy' and declaring Venezuelans are prepared to defend the country, as shown in a video shared by Alberto Rodolfo News on X during the period; he reiterated to Colombians that they must refound Gran Colombia sooner or later, per Conflict Radar on X. This seizure follows President Donald Trump's earlier statements on retaining oil from a Venezuelan tanker intercepted that evening and aligns with US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker deployments at Santo Domingo's Las AmĂ©ricas International Airport confirmed by prior Sentinel-2 imagery, as previously reported.
