A Venezuelan Navy coast guard boat helps a small fishing boat near a large cargo ship on September 11, 2025. Photo: Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters/file photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro described the detention of an oil tanker seized by US military personnel in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday as an act of piracy. On Thursday night, he reported that the crew was abducted and is missing, a circumstance referred to in human rights terms as a forced disappearance.
“Yesterday, they committed an absolutely criminal and illegal act when they carried out a military assault, kidnapping, and robbery—like pirates of the Caribbean—of a merchant, commercial, civilian, private vessel. A vessel of peace, which was attacked as it was about to enter the Atlantic, not off the coast of Venezuela. It was further north, beyond Trinidad and Tobago, towards the island of Grenada,” President Maduro said during a televised meeting at Amalivaca Commune in Caracas. He noted the tanker was carrying 1.9 million barrels of oil that had already been paid for.
Regarding the crew, he said, “As I speak to you now, the crew of that ship, of that oil tanker… are abducted, they are missing. Nobody knows where they are. The crew was kidnapped. The ship was stolen. A new era has begun: that of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean.”
He stated that all legal and diplomatic measures will be taken, “because Venezuela will secure all ships to guarantee the free trade of its oil to the world.”
President Maduro said this US act unmasked supremacists and proved their true aim was to seize Venezuelan oil, adding that the tanker had purchased its cargo from Venezuela and was sailing legally. He stated that, according to a flash survey by a recognized polling firm, 96% of Venezuelans condemn “the hijacking, assault, and robbery of the ship that was carrying Venezuelan oil to international markets.”
Maduro pointed out that “now it turns out that the US Coast Guard and military are being given orders to commit illegal acts of piracy. They have already been ordered to kill and finish off boatmen who were traveling through Trinidad and Tobago. They were not even going to the United States… that is the truth.”
The president claimed those governing the United States want a war like the one in Somalia, or worse. “They want another Vietnam, another Libya, an endless war like in Afghanistan … but with god’s grace, it will not be war, it will be peace.”
He pointed out that the US interest in Venezuela stems from its oil. “If Venezuela did not have the largest oil reserves, it would not exist for the supremacist billionaires in the United States. They want to steal Venezuela’s oil and not pay for it. Since BolĂvar’s time, by presidential decree, everything beneath the earth—gold, minerals, oil, and gas—belongs to the sovereign people of Venezuela.”
Minister Padrino speaks out
Later on Friday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino described the controversial US action as a flagrant violation of international law, the United Nations Charter, free trade, and free navigation. He demanded respect for the lives of the crew members and that their whereabouts be revealed, asserting that recent US actions are an attempt to seize Venezuela’s resources.
“It is a crude, rude act of cowardly thievery to appropriate resources that do not belong to you,” he condemned during the celebration of the anniversary of the Integrated Aerospace Defense Command. He added that imperialism, as part of its new defense doctrine, seeks to undermine democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The aim is to close the Caribbean for US interests. The aim is to steal the natural resources of the hemisphere, especially those of South America. The National Bolivarian Armed Force (FANB) is taking this into account because we will defend the concept of sovereignty. The US should know that we will not surrender,” the minister added.
Minister Padrino warned the people of the United States that their rulers want to use their young people in a war and then return them in sacks. He added that “we love the heroic people of the United States,” but the current ruling class is supremacist and has done nothing but lie.
“The people of the United States must understand that their government is an instrument of war. It wants and intends, here in this Western Hemisphere, to wage war in Latin America and the Caribbean. It intends, dear brothers and sisters of the United States, to once again return taxpayers, young people of US society, to their homes in black bags and sacks,” he warned. He emphasized that Venezuelans continue to cry out for peace, that the FANB is a reflection of Venezuelan society, and that President Maduro insists on advocating for peace in each of his speeches.
US-promoted “wild west” seas
This controversial action coincides with a report from Iranian news outlets on Friday that the country’s military forces seized an unidentified oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was allegedly carrying six million liters of smuggled diesel with an 18-member crew from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
It is not clear if this operation was related to the seizure of the Skipper oil tanker, which mainstream media reports claim has links to Iran. Iranian forces regularly announce interceptions of ships allegedly transporting smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf. Retail fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest in the world, making smuggling to other countries particularly profitable.
Also on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported on another instance of increasingly aggressive US maritime tactics. According to the report, US military forces raided a cargo ship traveling from China to Iran in November.
Venezuela Condemns US Theft of Oil Tanker as Act of Piracy (+International Reactions)
Unnamed officials told the newspaper that US military special forces boarded the ship several hundred miles from Sri Lanka. This marked the first time in several years that US forces had intercepted cargo traveling from China to Iran. The ship was later released.
This November operation occurred weeks before US forces seized the oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela—another action Washington had not taken in years.
US Indo-Pacific Command did not immediately confirm the report. An official told The Wall Street Journal that they seized material “potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons,” but noted the items were dual-use, meaning they could have both military and civilian applications.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
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