The officials were not authorised to discuss publicly the ongoing military operation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The action was described as a “consented boarding”, with the tanker stopping voluntarily and allowing US forces to board it, one official said. Mr Trump earlier this month announced that coastguard had seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea and vowed that the US would carry out a blockade of Venezuela. It all comes as Mr Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Mr Maduro and warned that the long-time Venezuelan leader’s days in power are numbered. “We’re not going to be letting anybody going through who shouldn’t be going through,” Mr Trump told reporters.

Source: The Times December 21, 2025 02:09 UTC