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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Oil tanker seized by US near
Venezuela owned by China: Bloomberg</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen
English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">December 20, 2025</div>
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<p>The US seizes a China-owned oil tanker off Venezuela\u2019s
coast, escalating tensions. Caracas condemns the act as
piracy and vows to file a complaint at the UN Security
Council.</p>
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<a
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alt="An image showing the oil tanker seized by the United States on December 20, 2025, near Venezuela, in a video published by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (X/@Sec_Noem)"
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An image showing the oil tanker seized by the
United States on December 20, 2025, near
Venezuela, in a video published by Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem (X/@Sec_Noem)
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<p>The United States has seized a Panama-flagged oil
tanker owned by China off the coast of Venezuela, in a
move that escalates ongoing tensions between
Washington and Caracas, according to a report by <em>Bloomberg</em>.</p>
<p><em>Reuters </em>on Saturday reported that <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-pirates-another-tanker-near-venezuela"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">US forces have carried out
another maritime vessel capture</a> near Venezuela,
seizing a vessel in international waters in what
Caracas said was a direct assault on its sovereignty
and a deliberate attempt to strangle the country's
economy.</p>
<p>Three US officials confirmed the operation, which
comes only days after President Donald Trump publicly
ordered "<a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-does-not-rule-out-war-with-venezuela-as-us-pressure-gr"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE</a>
OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of,
Venezuela."</p>
<p>The White House has refused to provide coordinates of
the interception, offering no transparency regarding
the scope or legal grounding of the raid.</p>
<p>Although Washington continues to frame its actions as
part of a "war on narcotics," the operations being
carried out bear little resemblance to standard
counter-drug missions. Instead, they align closely
with a sweeping sanctions-enforcement strategy
targeting Venezuela\u2019s energy sector, the backbone of
its economy and the core of its state revenue.</p>
<h2>Caracas to submit UNSC complaint</h2>
<p>Venezuelan officials have condemned the seizure as an
act of piracy and economic warfare. Caracas maintains
that <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/maduro-touts-global-respect-for-venezuela-s-sovereignty"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">Washington\u2019s actions are part
of a broader campaign</a> to overthrow the
government and plunder the country\u2019s natural resources
under the pretext of "fighting drug trafficking."</p>
<p>The Venezuelan government vowed that the hijacking of
the ship by the Americans would not go unpunished,
announcing its intention to file a formal complaint at
the United Nations Security Council.</p>
<p>US actions have had immediate operational and
economic consequences. <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venezuela-demands--35bln-in-reparations-from-us-for-oil-thef"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">Venezuelan oil exports have
reportedly fallen sharply</a> following the seizure
of a sanctioned tanker, with shipping data showing
that most crude cargoes are stuck or avoiding
Venezuelan ports. Tankers scheduled to load Venezuelan
crude have been rerouted or turned back to avoid US
naval patrols, creating severe logistical disruptions.</p>
<p>The country\u2019s oil storage capacity is rapidly
filling, raising the risk that PDVSA may soon have to
curtail production if export bottlenecks persist.
Markets have already responded with short-term price
volatility, reflecting supply concerns linked to the
US blockade in the Caribbean.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-does-not-rule-out-war-with-venezuela-as-us-pressure-gr"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">Trump does not rule out war
with Venezuela as US pressure grows</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>___________________________</strong></p>
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<a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/venezuela-rejects-us-theft-of-new-ship-with-venezuelan-crude-oil/">telesurenglish.net</a>
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<h1 class="reader-title">Venezuela Rejects US Theft
of New Ship With Venezuelan Crude Oil - teleSUR
English</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">teleSUR English</div>
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<div class="reader-estimated-time"
data-l10n-args="{"range":"3\u20134","rangePlural":"other"}"
data-l10n-id="about-reader-estimated-read-time"
dir="ltr">December 20, 2025</div>
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<p><img width="540" height="349"
src="https://ikona.telesurenglish.net/content/uploads/2025/12/Captura-de-pantalla-2025-12-20-184425-768x497.jpg.webp"
alt="" class="moz-reader-block-img"></p>
<p>Image of the Video Showing the Theft and
Kidnapping of the Ship Carrying Venezuelan
Crude. Photo: X-Account of United States
Security Secretary, Kisti Noem.</p>
<hr> </div>
<div>
<p> December 20, 2025 Hour: 7:47 pm </p>
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<div>
<p>Venezuela denounces the theft and
kidnapping of a second Venezuelan private
ship loaded with oil and the disappearance
of its crew, acts perpetrated by US military
in international waters this Saturday.</p>
<p><strong><em>RELATED:</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/venezuelan-pdvsa-exceeds-oil-production-target-with-1200000-barrels-per-day/">Venezuelan
Pdvsa Exceeds Oil Production Target
With 1,200,000 Barrels per Day</a></em></strong></p>
<p>\u201cThe Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
denounces and categorically rejects the
theft and hijacking of a new private vessel
carrying Venezuelan oil, as well as the
enforced disappearance of its crew,
committed by United States military
personnel in waters international,\u201d said a
statement from the Venezuelan government.</p>
<p>Venezuela warned that these actions will
not go unpunished and will exercise all the
corresponding actions, including
denunciation before the UN Security Council,
other multilateral agencies and governments
of the world.</p>
<figure></figure>
<p>In addition, the Bolivarian government
recalls that international law will prevail
and those responsible for these serious acts
will be held accountable by justice and
history for their criminal conduct.</p>
<p>The US government intercepted a
Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in
international Caribbean waters off
Venezuela. The detained ship, named
Centuries, is not on the list of tankers
sanctioned by the USA.</p>
<p>The government of constitutional president
of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro warns that this
serious act of piracy \u201cinvolves the flagrant
commission of an offence under article 3 of
the Convention for the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime
Navigation, 1988 and a gross violation of
article 2 of the Charter of the United
Nations, Article 2 of the Geneva Convention
on the High Seas and the Declaration on the
principles of international law relating to
friendly relations and cooperation between
States.\u201d</p>
<p>Venezuela stresses that the colonialist
model which the United States Government
intends to impose through this type of
practice will fail and be defeated by the
Venezuelan people, and will continue with
its economic growth, tion of its 14 engines
and the development of its hydrocarbon
industry in an independent and sovereign
manner.</p>
<p>The US government intercepted a
Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in
international Caribbean waters off
Venezuela. According to the Secretary of
National Security, the operation seeks to
stop the illicit movement of sanctioned oil.
</p>
<p>This is the second vessel intercepted by
the U.S. in the Caribbean, after the seizure
of the ship Skipper last week. The detained
ship, named Centuries, is not on the list of
tankers sanctioned by the USA.</p>
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