The United States has dramatically escalated its campaign against the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro through a high-seas military operation and sweeping new economic measures. Newly released footage depicts US special forces rappelling from helicopters onto the oil tanker ‘Skipper’ in international waters, seizing the vessel in what Venezuelan officials decry as ‘international piracy.’
The White House justified the operation as targeting ‘illicit oil shipping’ that allegedly benefits what it characterizes as Maduro’s ‘illegitimate regime.’ Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated the intercepted tanker would be escorted to an American port following legal proceedings, with its crude cargo confiscated. Simultaneously, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on six additional vessels transporting Venezuelan petroleum, expanding the existing embargo network.
Washington’s offensive extends beyond maritime interdiction to financial pressure targeting Maduro’s inner circle. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions against three nephews of Maduro’s wife alongside multiple associated businesses, aiming to disrupt the leadership’s ‘dictatorial and brutal control.’ The administration explicitly connected oil revenue to narco-terrorism financing, vowing not to permit ‘rogue regimes’ to profit from black market petroleum sales.
Venezuela responded with fierce diplomatic condemnation, with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello labeling US forces ‘murderers, thieves, pirates.’ President Maduro pledged his nation would never become an ‘oil colony’ while accepting support from international allies including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who offered backing against ‘growing external pressure.’
The operation signals a dangerous escalation in regional tensions, evidenced by the prepositioning of the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group and thousands of troops within striking distance of Venezuela’s coast. This confrontation unfolds against the backdrop of longstanding US allegations that Caracas facilitates narcotics trafficking into American territories—charges Venezuela denies while accusing Washington of resource appropriation.