Video: Venezuelan tanker seized by US; oil traders watch for shockwaves

Alaska North Slope crude prices may be soft, and this week’s fall revenue forecast from the Department of Revenue will likely reflect that. But global energy markets absorbed a slight jolt on Wednesday after President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that the United States had seized a Venezuelan oil tanker bound for Cuba with over 1 million barrels of sanctioned oil on board that would eventually be heading to Asian markets.

The US Coast Guard, Navy, FBI, and other agencies coordinated in the seizure of the tanker and Venezuela’s illicit oil networks linked to Iran and other groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump made the announcement during a White House roundtable, calling it the largest tanker ever taken in such an enforcement action.

He also hinted at additional measures underway, signaling a sharp escalation in Washington’s confrontation with Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The tanker seizure is the latest in a series of increasingly forceful steps against Venezuela’s government, which is already under sweeping US sanctions aimed at its oil sector, which is the financial backbone of the Maduro regime.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement: “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. 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.”

Watch the operation here:

WATCH: U.S. forces seize oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela pic.twitter.com/xCJjDP2oY3

— BNO News (@BNONews) December 10, 2025

The escalation comes as US military forces have carried out at least 22 strikes since September on vessels the Pentagon identifies as narcotraffickers operating near Venezuelan waters, an action objected to by Democrats and Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

For months, the Trump administration has treated Venezuela not only as a failed petro-state but as a hub for organized criminal activity tied to the Cartel de Los Soles. Trump recently declared that Maduro’s “days are numbered,” and has pointedly refused to rule out land-based military action.

Even the possibility of reduced Venezuelan exports often pushes traders to re-price risk, which historically benefits higher-cost producers such as Alaska.

But while Alaska North Slope crude has hovered at softer price levels in recent weeks, and while disruptions in heavy and medium crude supplies, Venezuela’s specialty, can tighten markets quickly, it has not in this instance.  The global market is flooded with inventory. If anything, this event is only likely to have a short reaction by the markets. But traders will be watching developments with Venezuela closely.