Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his solidarity with the Venezuelan government this Thursday in a telephone conversation with Nicolás Maduro, just hours after the United States announced the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
According to EFE, in it Kremlin statement“Vladímir Putin expressed his solidarity with the Venezuelan people and reaffirmed his support for the Maduro Government’s policy aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure.”
This was the first official conversation between both leaders since the escalation of tensions from Washington towards Caracas began.
Both leaders they exchanged on the development of Russian-Venezuelan relations under the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in November 2025. In addition, they confirmed their commitment to the implementation of joint projects in commercial, economic, energy, financial and cultural areas.
He Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil He stressed that the communication channels between both nations remain open and that Russia will continue to support Venezuela in its defense of sovereignty.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025
Tanker Skipper
What Trump described in his opening remarks yesterday as “a large, very large oil tanker, in fact the largest ever seized,” was he Skippera 20-year-old, 333-meter-long tanker ship.
According to US officials, the operation It began Wednesday morning and involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members, 10 Marines and special operations forces, all launching from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.
The attorney general Pam Bondi explained that the ship had been sanctioned for years for its participation in an illicit oil transportation network that supported foreign terrorist organizations.
He Skipperformerly known as Adisawas sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 for his ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.
According to browsing data reviewed by CNNhe Skipper hid its true location while docked at a Venezuelan oil terminal in November. On November 18, satellite images showed that the ship was docked near the Venezuelan coastal city of Barcelona, although its transponder indicated that it was off the coast of Guyana.
According to CNN, before arriving in Venezuela, the Skipper made a stopover in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. In early July, it appeared to remain near the Iranian coast for several days.
US officials reported that the ship was transporting Venezuelan crude oil and was headed to Cuba, with a final destination in Asia after being negotiated through Cuban intermediaries. PDVSA documents Cited by NPR indicate that the ship left Venezuela around December 2 with approximately 2 million barrels of heavy crude oil, about half belonging to a Cuban state oil importer.
The Government of Guyana declared that he Skipper He was falsely sailing under the Guyanese flag, despite not being registered in that country.
Venezuela reaction
The Venezuelan government denounced the seizure, calling it “a brazen theft and an act of international piracy.”
In a official statementthe Venezuelan government declared that:
“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and strongly repudiates what constitutes a brazen theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the president of the United States, who confessed to the assault of an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. It is not the first time that he has admitted it, already in his 2024 campaign he openly stated that his objective has always been to keep Venezuelan oil without paying any compensation in exchange, making it clear that the policy of aggression against our country responds to “a deliberate plan to dispossess our energy wealth.”
“Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed. It is not about migration. It is not about drug trafficking. It is not about democracy. It is not about human rights. It has always been about our natural wealth, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
#BreakingTime Diosdado Cabello reads the statement from Venezuela denouncing the brazen theft and assault of an oil tanker by the US
An act of international piracy. The US has always declared its desire for Venezuelan oil without paying a dollar.
Scoundrels. pic.twitter.com/uitmcWoVLG
— The Red Room (@ElCuartoRoj0) December 11, 2025
Veniceuela announced that it will appeal the seizure before “all existing international organizations.”
During a speech in Caracas, Maduro declared that the country is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”
US military escalation
The seizure occurs as part of a unprecedented military pressure campaign that the United States has deployed in the Caribbean since September 2024.
Washington has sent thousands of military personnel, an aircraft carrier strike group and fighter jets to the region.
US forces have destroyed at least 23 boats who, according to Washington, were transporting drugs. The result has been the death of 87 people, according to official figures.
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the most advanced in the US fleet, arrived in the Caribbean last month. In addition, two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters they flew over the Gulf of Venezuela this week, in what appears to be the closest approach of combat aircraft to Venezuelan airspace.
trump declared to Politico in an interview published Tuesday that Maduro’s “days are numbered,” and refused to rule out a ground invasion of Venezuela.
Reactions in the United States
The seizure of the tanker has generated divided reactions in the United States. The Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen questioned the Trump administration’s stated reasons for the military deployment: “This shows that their entire coverage story, which is about interdicting drugs, is a big lie. This is just one more piece of evidence that this really is about regime change, by force.”
For its part, Beth Sannera former senior US intelligence official, told CNN that the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker was “absolutely normal” as part of an attempt to prevent the regime from transporting sanctioned crude oil.
The US Congress has faced increasing scrutiny over military operations in the Caribbean, especially after a September 2 attack against a boat that included a second attack with the aim of killing two survivors of the first. Lawmakers from both parties have requested unedited videos of the attacks and introduced resolutions to limit the use of military force without congressional authorization.
When asked what would happen to the seized oil, Trump responded: “Well, we’ll keep it, I guess.”
Geopolitical implications
The Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Russia and Venezuela, signed in May 2024, came into force days before Washington announced the beginning of operation “Lanza del Sur” against drug trafficking in the region.
The document establishes the need to continue cooperation in security matters, including the military-technical field. However, Moscow has denied until now that Caracas has officially requested military aid from Russia, such as missiles, planes or anti-aircraft batteries.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba classified the seizure as an “aggressive escalation.” “We condemn the vile act of piracy and the seizure by military forces of that country of a ship with Venezuelan oil, which contravenes the rules of free trade and freedom of navigation, in clear violation of International Law,” Bruno Rodríguez wrote in a tweet.
Cuban government condemns US confiscation of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast
The island depends on oil imports from allies such as Venezuela, Russia and Mexico and is facing a substantial deficit in electricity generation that causes long hours of blackouts throughout the country.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world and produces around 1 million barrels per day. PDVSA, the state oil company, is the backbone of the country’s economy.
The seizure of Skipper marks a turning point in the confrontation between Washington and Caracas, with implications that extend beyond the Caribbean region and affect the geopolitical dynamics between the United States, Russia and their respective allies.
