What we know about US seizure of oil tanker off Venezuela18 hours ago Share Save Brandon Livesay and Bernd Debusmann , at the White House Share SaveWatch: Video shows US military seizing oil tanker off Venezuela coastA US helicopter flies low over a hazy blue sea as it approaches a massive ship. The video, released by the US government, shows the latest in a series of escalations in Washington's pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro's government – the seizure of a crude oil tanker. The US claims the tanker is used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran in an "illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations". The operation"We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. Bondi said a seizure warrant for the tanker was carried out by the US Coast Guard, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Pentagon.