Trump on Venezuelan Oil Tanker Seizure: ‘Well, We Keep It, I Guess’

Things mentioned by President Donald Trump in the course of today’s news conference, which was ostensibly to discuss a new luxury visa program: That the U.S. military on Wednesday morning seized a massive Venezuelan oil tanker.

Things not mentioned by President Donald Trump in the same press conference: Why the United States apparently seized a Venezuelan oil tanker. Trump, despite broaching the topic directly to media, elected not to answer who owned said tanker, or what the justification was for taking it, saying only “it was seized for a very good reason.” When one reporter asked what would happen to the oil seized from said tanker, or the ship itself, Trump replied: “Well, we keep it, I guess,” according to New York Times reporter Chris Cameron.

The NYT goes on to cite an unnamed Trump administration official who, in the follow-up to that news conference, said that the tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela in international waters is named Skipper. Said official said the tanker was “carrying a false flag of nationality,” and “was seized because of its past links to smuggling illicit Iranian oil, not because of ties to the Maduro regime, although it was carrying Venezuelan oil.”

Regardless of any further details that are continuing to dribble out in real time like so much spilled crude, this is a shocking escalation of what is already a tense situation off the coast of Venezuela, poised for war. Tensions are obviously extremely high between Trump, his Department of War headed by Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the regime of Nicolás Maduro, following a series of at least 22 deadly U.S. military Caribbean strikes on boats alleged to be carrying drugs, which have killed an estimated 87 people since September. In particular, the Sept. 2, 2025 boat strike that involved a secondary, “double tap” strike on unarmed, helpless sailors clinging to their wreckage has incensed Americans and politicians on both sides of the aisle, with many labeling the strike as a war crime.

Speaking about Maduro, Trump recently said the authoritarian leaders’ “days are numbered,” and told reporters that “I don’t want to rule in or out” in regards to ground operations–which some would call “an invasion”–of Venezuela. The waters outside of the country have seen a huge buildup of U.S. military might, with a dozen ships anchored by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the country’s most advanced aircraft carrier. This week, U.S. jets have circled the waters north of Venezuela as detractors of Trump and his administration decry the seemingly oil-based motivations for the U.S. interest in deposing Maduro. Venezuela retains some of the world’s largest oil reserves, and exports three quarters of a million barrels to day, including large amounts to China.

Trump, by the way, wasn’t done throwing out threats at today’s press conference: In addition to his vague words on the oil tanker seizure, he also found time to threaten Colombia and its president Gustavo Petro, who has called the U.S. boat strikes in the Caribbean a “massacre.”

“He better wise up or he’ll be next,” Trump said to reporters in reference to Petro. “I hope he’s listening: He’s going to be next.”

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