US moves unto piracy to enforce its sanctions against Venezuela

The seizure of the Skipper marks the opening of a new and perilous chapter in the US pressure campaign against Venezuela.

The United States has escalated its military and economic campaign against the Venezuelan government by moving beyond economic sanctions to the physical seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of the Bolivarian country.

US military and law enforcement personnel boarded and commandeered a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) off the coast of Venezuela, directly confiscating its sanctioned cargo, an act denounced as piracy by Caracas and other states amid a broader escalation of economic warfare and military deployment in the Caribbean Sea.

The theft, described correctly by Caracas as “an act of international piracy,” adds another layer to the US carving a sphere of influence in the hemisphere by targeting Venezuela and in Washington’s bid to sever the Bolivarian country’s primary source of revenue and as it attempts to force its president, Nicolas Maduro, into capitulation.

The US has built up its largest military presence in the region in decades, including deploying the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the Caribbean. The military buildup has been accompanied by a campaign of lethal strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats, which has killed at least 84 people since September.

Concurrently, the European Union, a US vassal, is deliberating measures to bypass member states opposing the confiscation and use of seized Russian assets, as they also seek to seize the supposed ‘Russian shadow fleet’ vessels in the Baltic Sea. All the while Ukrainian sea drones have targeted two vessels from allegedly from the shadowy fleet as well in the Black Sea, thus by all accounts the US-led West is de facto amidst a row of harsh illegal geopolitical moves.

Pirates of the Caribbean

On December 10th, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the execution of a seizure warrant for a crude tanker transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran. The operation, involving the FBI, Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and US military support, was captured in a 45-second video showing two helicopters approaching the vessel and armed personnel in camouflage rappelling onto its deck.

The target was identified by maritime analysts as the VLCC Skipper, which had loaded approximately 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude. When asked about the fate of the confiscated oil, President Donald Trump said, “We keep it, I guess,” failing to portray this theft as if it were a rightful enforcement of US sanctions.

The Venezuelan government issued a formal statement accusing the US of “blatant theft” and denouncing it as “an act of international piracy” before international bodies. Iran followed suit, whose embassy in Caracas declared the seizure a “grave violation of international laws and norms.”

The action is perceived not merely as an economic sanction but as a sovereign violation, an act of force on the high seas that breaks established norms of maritime jurisdiction. As the video showing the US forces aboard the vessel is described by observers as piracy, making the US seem not as a law enforcer but as an outlaw state itself, operating outside the very international order it claims to uphold.

Making an example out of Venezuela

This seizure represents the first direct interception of a Venezuelan oil cargo since comprehensive US sanctions were imposed in 2019, signaling a decisive shift in strategy. Prior efforts focused on financial and secondary sanctions, attempting to dissuade international buyers and shipping insurers from dealing with Venezuelan petroleum.

By moving to physically seize cargo, the US is directly attacking the Venezuelan financial lifeline of oil revenue. The targeted tanker, the Skipper, was accused by the US of being part of a “shadow fleet” of vessels using ownership and tactics like ship-to-ship transfers to evade sanctions.

The legal justification for the seizure rests on US sanctions law and the tanker’s alleged involvement in sanctioned Iranian oil trading under its previous name, Adisa. Experts warn it blurs the line between law enforcement and acts of war, potentially inviting retaliatory measures or encouraging other nations to adopt similar tactics to enforce their own domestic laws internationally.

Furthermore, the operation occurred amid a massive US military buildup in the region, which President Trump has previously linked to potential intervention in Venezuela.

Similar past operations against Iran

The United States has previously employed the tactic of seizing oil tankers as a key component of its sanctions enforcement against Iran, establishing a legal and operational precedent for recent actions off Venezuela.

Notably, in a major 2021 operation, the US Department of Justice seized two tankers carrying Iranian crude oil, directing one to Houston, Texas, where nearly two million barrels of oil were confiscated and later sold for over $110 million.

These actions were justified under US domestic laws, specifically the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and anti-terrorism statutes, which courts have used to authorize civil forfeiture proceedings against assets linked to sanctioned entities like Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

It is possible the US will use this same legal framework that treats the cargo itself as evidence of a crime against Venezuela, attempting to cripple trade between the Bolivarian country and the global south, allowing for seizure even on the high seas.

Unlike the recent operation involving US military personnel fast-roping onto a vessel near Venezuela, seizures from Iranian-affiliated tankers have often involved more complex legal maneuvers, such as luring ships to friendly ports or leveraging international partnerships to detain vessels.

For instance, in 2023, the US worked with authorities in Greece to detain the Russian-flagged Pegas, which was carrying Iranian oil, though it was later released after legal challenges.

The primary effect is psychological pressure against Venezuela, creating market uncertainty and impacting immediate supply availability. Venezuela, which already discounts its crude to compete with sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran, now faces an additional risk of shipment interception. This could further limit its export capacity, tighten the global supply of its heavy crude grade, and affect specialized refineries dependent on it.

A new and perilous phase of piracy

The seizure of the Skipper marks the opening of a new and perilous chapter in the US pressure campaign against Venezuela. It moves the conflict from the realms of economic and financial sabotage into the physical domain, employing military assets to enforce economic policy of piracy.

For the international community, the incident poses urgent questions about the limits of unilateral power and the future of freedom of navigation.