President Donald Trump announced on Dec. 11, 2025, that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid mounting tensions with the Maduro government, according to an Associated Press report shared by Rep. Thomas Massie on X between 6:46 PM and 7:45 PM UTC. The announcement, reported by AP News, comes over the past 59 minutes during heightened U.S.-Venezuela frictions. Rep. Massie posted the AP link questioning narratives around regional drug activities. This development follows U.S. Treasury sanctions earlier on Dec. 11 targeting three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a regime businessman, six companies, and Venezuelan oil ships, as detailed in Axios reports shared between 5:46 PM and 6:45 PM UTC. Spanish politician Irene Montero denounced a U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker as "illegal aggression," per an X post by @UHN_Plus during prior coverage. U.S. Air Force assets, including a Rivet Joint aircraft in the Gulf, were noted amid these events, according to @AirAssets on X over the past hour, building on earlier military movements to Puerto Rico and Trinidad.
