[News] Venezuela demands release of crew, return of oil seized by US

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-demands-release-of-crew--return-of-oil-seized-by-u>
Venezuela demands release of crew, return of oil seized by US
Al Mayadeen English
December 16, 2025
------------------------------

Venezuela demands the immediate release of the crew and return of oil
allegedly seized by the US in the Caribbean, calling it "state piracy" and
urging UN condemnation.

   - [image: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto during a meeting
   with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yiat the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in
   Beijing, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/12/16/cc6efebe-e92e-4401-9a47-04b637d8ee15.jpg?v=3&width=1000>
   Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto, during a meeting with Chinese
   Foreign Minister Wang Yiat the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing,
   Monday, May 12, 2025 (Pool Photo via *AP*)

Venezuela has officially demanded the immediate release of its ship's crew
and the return of a seized oil shipment
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/oil-lies-in-depths-of-trump-s-campaign-against-venezuela--ny>
following what it calls an act of "state piracy" committed by the United
States in the high seas.

In a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the president of the UN
Security Council, Venezuela described the incident as a violation of
international law and a threat to global maritime order.

The letter, signed by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-slams-israeli-fm-as--war-criminal--genocide-perpet>,
accuses the US military of boarding a private vessel carrying Venezuelan
oil in the Caribbean on December 10, seizing the cargo, and detaining the
crew, who remain missing.

Caracas asserts that the shipment was part of a lawful international
commercial operation and that the US acted without authorization from the
UN Security Council.

*Read more: Venezuela accuses EU of corruption in humanitarian aid funds
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-accuses-eu-of-corruption-in-humanitarian-aid-funds>*
Venezuela outlines demands to UN Security Council

In its appeal to the Security Council, Venezuela issued a list of specific
demands to the United States:

   1. Immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped crew;
   2. Return of the seized Venezuelan oil cargo;
   3. End of all US interference in the legal commercialization of
   Venezuelan oil.

The Bolivarian government further urged the UN Security Council to:

   -

   Publicly condemn this act of state-sponsored piracy, the unlawful use of
   military force against a private vessel, and the theft of a cargo resulting
   from lawful international trade;
   -

   Fulfill its primary mandate to safeguard the security of maritime
   navigation and international commerce, both of which are gravely endangered
   by this dangerous precedent
   -

   Prevent practices tantamount to piracy from becoming entrenched as
   instruments of economic and political coercion between States

Venezuela also called on the Council to formally reaffirm, in writing, that
it has adopted no decision, resolution, or measure authorizing actions
against Venezuela or against the international trade of its oil.

“Venezuela will continue exercising its sovereign and inalienable
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/maduro-slams-us-motives-amid-trump-s-venezuela-threat>
right to legitimately commercialize its resources and demands that no legal
operation be subjected to theft, kidnapping, or acts of piracy, regardless
of their origin," the letter concluded.

*Read more: Cuba condemns US cyberattack on Venezuela’s PDVSA as sabotage
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/cuba-condemns-us-cyberattack-on-venezuela-s-pdvsa-as-sabotag>*
Escalating US-Venezuela maritime tensions

While the bulk of the letter is centered on the December 10 incident, the
Venezuelan government placed the event in a broader pattern of US-led
coercion, describing it as the culmination of years of illegal unilateral
measures and aggression.

It also cited UN maritime law and past Security Council resolutions
condemning piracy, warning that this act, if left unaddressed, would set a
dangerous precedent for global shipping and economic sovereignty.

The incident occurred amid heightened regional tensions and recent
Venezuelan moves to reinforce control over its sovereign assets
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-adjusts-defense-strategy-amid-growing-external-pre>
and oil exports, many of which remain subject to external sanctions and
international disputes.

*Read more: Caracas halts gas supply deals with Trinidad & Tobago, cites
oil theft
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/caracas-halts-gas-supply-deals-with-trinidad---tobago--cites>*
Mexico against foreign intervention in Venezuela, supports
self-determination

Separately, Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sheinbaum--us-intervention-in-mexico--not-going-to-happen>,
stated that she is against the demands of far-right politician Maria Corina
Machado
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/latin-intellectuals-slam-nobel-jury-for-hailing--war-advocat>,
who is calling for a foreign military intervention
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sheinbaum--us-intervention-in-mexico--not-going-to-happen>
in Venezuela.

Speaking on Tuesday, Sheinbaum said that she cannot support the politically
destabilizing actions in any form as they run counter to the Mexican
Constitution, which promotes the self-determination of people and the
peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Furthermore, she rejected a spurious comparison between Machado and Honduran
President Xiomara Castro
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/honduran-president-accuses-trump-of--election-manipulation>,
saying, “One of them is calling for foreign intervention. We, by conviction
and by constitutional mandate, are against interventionism and
interference."

The Mexican president commented on her previously refraining from speaking
about Machado following the latter's Nobel Prize victory, stating,  “The
last time I said ‘no comment,’ and I continue to say ‘no comment’… Mexico
will always defend the self-determination of peoples, noninvasion,
noninterference, and the decision of peoples to have the governments they
decide to have."

*Read more: Sanaa condemns US escalation against Venezuela as destabilizing
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sanaa-condemns-us-escalation-against-venezuela-as-destabiliz>*
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