Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a Wednesday video of U.S. forces seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker after a series of strikes on vessels in the region.
“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 wrote in a post on the social platform X.
“For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues,” she added.
Bondi’s video shows military members being airdropped onto the tanker and surveilling those on board with guns.
President Trump told reporters the tanker was “seized for a very good reason.”
Trump says US has seized oil tanker near Venezuela
When asked what would be done with the oil being transported, the president said, “I assume we’re going to keep the oil.”
The move follows Trump’s massive push for increased military presence in the U.S. Southern Command area, sending warships, Marines, fighter jets, spy planes and other assets, arguing the buildup is necessary to halt the smuggling of narcotics and to defend the U.S.
