The incident occurred in international waters in the South American country
The Venezuelan government classified the seizure of the country’s oil tanker, by the United States (US) military, as a “blatant robbery” and an act of piracy. The ship with around 1.1 million barrels of oil was seized by the USA, this Wednesday, in international waters. The action caused product prices to soar on the global market.
“The policy of aggression against our country responds to a deliberate plan to loot our energy resources. This new criminal act adds to the theft of Citgo, an important asset in the strategic heritage of all Venezuelans”, stated a statement from the government of Nicolas Maduro.
In early December, the US Court authorized the sale of Citgo, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, which was taken over by Washington in 2019, after Maduro’s first re-election was not recognized.
The Caracas government added that these actions demonstrate the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela.
“It’s not migration, it’s not drug trafficking, it’s not democracy, it’s not human rights. It has always been about our natural wealth, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people”, added the statement from the Miraflores Palace.
On a social network, the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, stated that the seizure of the oil tanker is an international offense. “Venezuela will resort to all international bodies to denounce this vulgar theft,” he said.
The seizure of the tanker was announced by US President Donald Trump himself, who stated that he should keep the ship.
“And other things are happening,” said Trump, who has been putting military pressure on Venezuela to bring about a “regime change.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published your own video edition of the seizure, with a soundtrack composed of an excerpt from the song “Mama Said Knock You Out”, by LL Cool J. DHS has been the target of frequent criticism for misuse music in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment advertisements.
Naval blockade
Geopolitics expert Ronaldo Carmona, researcher at the Brazilian Center for International Relations (Cebri), assesses that the action indicates a possible naval blockade against Venezuela with the aim of strangling the country’s revenue in an attempt to overthrow the Maduro government.
“After the establishment of a no-fly zone the previous week, this action against the oil tanker indicates a possible naval blockade aimed at the overthrow of the government in Caracas. It is very serious for Brazil that American military action is bringing war to a region of peace like South America”, he stated.
I am looking for Venezuela
The seizure of the oil tanker represents an escalation of the US military siege against Venezuela, which already has several attacks against vessels in the Caribbean under the official justification of combating drug trafficking, despite the South American country not being one of the world’s cocaine producers and not home to the most important drug cartels.
During the 2023 election campaign, Trump even admitted that, during his first term, he was close to “taking” all the oil from Venezuela, which is the country with the largest proven oil reserves on the planet. Since 2017, Venezuela has suffered from an economic embargo imposed by the USA.
Earlier this month, the White House published the guidelines for the new national security policy reaffirming that the US hopes to have “prominence” in Latin America. Experts have warned that the actions against Venezuela seek a “regime change” in Caracas, which has close relations with China, Russia and Iran, Washington’s adversaries at the international level.
Originally published by Agência Brasil on 12/11/2025
By Lucas Pordeus León – Reporter at Agência Brasil – Brasília
Editing: Valéria Aguiar
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/12/11/venezuela-chama-de-pirataria-e-roubo-a-apreensao-de-petroleiro-por-eua/
