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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Venezuela demands release of crew, return of oil seized by US</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">December 16, 2025</div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>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.</p><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
<a href="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/12/16/cc6efebe-e92e-4401-9a47-04b637d8ee15.jpg?v=3&width=1000" tabindex="0"><img src="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/12/16/cc6efebe-e92e-4401-9a47-04b637d8ee15.jpg?v=3&width=1000&preset=w800" alt="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)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></a>
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 <em>AP</em>)
</li></div></ul>
<p>Venezuela has officially demanded the immediate release of its ship's crew and the return of a <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/oil-lies-in-depths-of-trump-s-campaign-against-venezuela--ny">seized oil shipment</a> following what it calls an act of "state piracy" committed by the United States in the high seas.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The letter, signed by <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-slams-israeli-fm-as--war-criminal--genocide-perpet">Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil</a>,
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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-accuses-eu-of-corruption-in-humanitarian-aid-funds">Venezuela accuses EU of corruption in humanitarian aid funds</a></strong></p>
<h2>Venezuela outlines demands to UN Security Council</h2>
<p>In its appeal to the Security Council, Venezuela issued a list of specific demands to the United States:</p>
<ol><li>Immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped crew;</li><li>Return of the seized Venezuelan oil cargo;</li><li>End of all US interference in the legal commercialization of Venezuelan oil.</li></ol>
<p>The Bolivarian government further urged the UN Security Council to:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>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;</p>
</li><li>
<p>Fulfill its primary mandate to safeguard the security of maritime
navigation and international commerce, both of which are gravely
endangered by this dangerous precedent</p>
</li><li>
<p>Prevent practices tantamount to piracy from becoming entrenched as instruments of economic and political coercion between States</p>
</li></ul>
<p>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.</p>
<p>\u201cVenezuela will continue exercising its <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/maduro-slams-us-motives-amid-trump-s-venezuela-threat">sovereign and inalienable</a>
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.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/cuba-condemns-us-cyberattack-on-venezuela-s-pdvsa-as-sabotag">Cuba condemns US cyberattack on Venezuela\u2019s PDVSA as sabotage</a></strong></p>
<h2>Escalating US-Venezuela maritime tensions</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The incident occurred amid heightened regional tensions and recent Venezuelan moves to <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-adjusts-defense-strategy-amid-growing-external-pre">reinforce control over its sovereign assets</a> and oil exports, many of which remain subject to external sanctions and international disputes.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/caracas-halts-gas-supply-deals-with-trinidad---tobago--cites">Caracas halts gas supply deals with Trinidad & Tobago, cites oil theft</a></strong></p>
<h2>Mexico against foreign intervention in Venezuela, supports self-determination</h2>
<p>Separately, <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sheinbaum--us-intervention-in-mexico--not-going-to-happen">Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum</a>, stated that she is against the demands of far-right politician <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/latin-intellectuals-slam-nobel-jury-for-hailing--war-advocat">Maria Corina Machado</a>, who is calling for a <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sheinbaum--us-intervention-in-mexico--not-going-to-happen">foreign military intervention</a> in Venezuela.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Furthermore, she rejected a spurious comparison between Machado and <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/honduran-president-accuses-trump-of--election-manipulation">Honduran President Xiomara Castro</a>,
saying, \u201cOne of them is calling for foreign intervention. We, by
conviction and by constitutional mandate, are against interventionism
and interference."</p>
<p>The Mexican president commented on
her previously refraining from speaking about Machado following the
latter's Nobel Prize victory, stating, \u201cThe last time I said \u2018no
comment,\u2019 and I continue to say \u2018no comment\u2019\u2026 Mexico will always defend
the self-determination of peoples, noninvasion, noninterference, and the
decision of peoples to have the governments they decide to have."</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sanaa-condemns-us-escalation-against-venezuela-as-destabiliz">Sanaa condemns US escalation against Venezuela as destabilizing</a></strong></p></div></div></div>
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