Fresh reporting on the VLCC Skipper, the Venezuelan-linked oil tanker seized by U.S. forces off the country’s coast this week, indicates it was carrying about 1.1 million barrels of sanctioned crude, some of it tied to Cuba. President Nicolás Maduro has condemned the operation as “international piracy” amid intensifying U.S. pressure on his government.
New information from shipping data and U.S. and Venezuelan statements has clarified the circumstances surrounding the U.S. seizure of the oil tanker Skipper off Venezuela’s coast.
The Skipper, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) previously known as the Adisa, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for allegedly participating in a “shadow” or “dark” fleet that smuggled oil on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, according to U.S. government designations and subsequent press reports. The vessel was later renamed Skipper and continued operating in sanction‑evading networks, including carrying both Iranian and Venezuelan crude.
According to marine traffic data and reporting cited by outlets including The Guardian, Associated Press, and Washington Post, the tanker had recently been docked at Venezuela’s José (Puerto José) oil terminal before departing Venezuelan waters in early December with a large cargo of heavy crude. Estimates of the cargo volume vary by source: several reports and maritime analysts put the load at about 1.1 million barrels, while AP- and PDVSA-linked documents cited by other outlets suggest the vessel departed with roughly 1.8–2 million barrels of crude, part of which was transferred to another ship near Curaçao before the seizure. Roughly half of the cargo is reported to belong to a Cuban state‑run oil importer, indicating at least a portion of the shipment was destined for Cuba.
Ship‑tracking firms such as TankerTrackers.com and analytics company Windward have described the Skipper as part of a global “dark fleet” that falsifies its Automatic Identification System (AIS) location data to conceal movements. Investigations by major outlets, drawing on satellite imagery and AIS records, have found that in the weeks prior to the seizure the Skipper repeatedly transmitted false positions, at times indicating it was off Guyana while images showed it at Venezuela’s José port. Analysts also link the ship to prior clandestine voyages involving Iranian crude and note that it has transported many millions of barrels of sanctioned oil since 2021, though precise totals vary among sources.
U.S. officials say the operation took place on December 10–11, 2025, in the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela, carried out by Coast Guard personnel with support from other U.S. agencies under a federal seizure warrant tied to sanctions enforcement. Video released by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi shows armed personnel fast‑roping from helicopters onto the tanker’s deck and moving through its superstructure during the boarding.
President Donald Trump publicly confirmed the seizure, describing the Skipper as the "largest" tanker ever taken by the United States and suggesting Washington intended to keep the oil aboard, according to multiple reports. U.S. officials have framed the action as part of a broader crackdown on illicit oil networks that help finance sanctioned regimes and designated terrorist organizations.
The Venezuelan government has sharply condemned the seizure. In statements carried by state media and cited by international outlets, Caracas called the action “blatant theft” and an “act of international piracy,” accusing Washington of seeking control over Venezuela’s natural resources. President Nicolás Maduro has used similarly charged language in public remarks, urging supporters to resist what he calls aggression by the “North American empire.”
Daily Wire reporting, drawing on U.S. and Venezuelan sources, notes that Maduro already faces U.S. narcotics‑related charges and a multimillion‑dollar bounty from U.S. authorities, and that the seizure adds to the political and economic pressure on his government. Venezuela’s oil sector, long the backbone of its economy, still provides the overwhelming majority of the country’s export earnings and government revenue, leaving Caracas highly vulnerable to tighter enforcement of oil‑related sanctions.
María Corina Machado, a leading opposition figure long backed by Washington, has publicly welcomed the seizure and broader U.S. pressure. The Daily Wire reports that she characterized the move as evidence that the Maduro regime is “weaker than ever,” while praising the Trump administration’s actions against illicit oil shipments. Separately, the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran has highlighted her recent Nobel Peace Prize recognition in statements lauding U.S. interdictions.
In parallel diplomatic developments, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signaled that Maduro would be welcome in Belarus, according to Belta and Reuters accounts summarized by The Daily Wire. Those reports say Lukashenko held a second meeting in recent weeks with Venezuela’s ambassador to Russia and indicated Minsk could consider offering sanctuary if Maduro were to step down under certain conditions. The same reporting, based on Politico and other outlets, states that Maduro has privately floated a willingness to leave office if granted full legal amnesty, though this has not been confirmed by independent official records.
The tanker seizure comes amid a broader U.S. military and law‑enforcement buildup in the Caribbean linked to drug‑interdiction and sanctions enforcement operations. Commentators in several outlets, including opinion coverage in The Daily Wire, have described discussions in Washington about possible no‑fly zones and expanded deployments of warships and other assets. However, the precise number of U.S. troops involved, the status of any no‑fly zone proposals, and the extent of CIA or other covert activity have not been disclosed in detail by official sources.
Overall, the Skipper operation reflects an escalation in U.S. efforts to target the shadow fleet sustaining sanctioned oil flows from Venezuela and Iran. While supporters of the Venezuelan opposition have hailed the action as a decisive step against Maduro, analysts caution that even significant seizures are unlikely on their own to topple the government, though they may raise the costs and risks of Venezuela’s already strained oil trade.
