admin
On December 10, 2025, the United States executed a bold operation to seize a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, an action President Trump publicly confirmed and the government later identified as the Skipper carrying roughly two million barrels of crude. This was not a casual enforcement action; Coast Guard and federal law-enforcement personnel boarded the vessel from the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in a decisive, professional operation designed to cut off illicit shipments. Americans should be clear-eyed about what this represents: a government finally using its muscle to defend our interests and enforce international sanctions.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released footage showing personnel fast-roping onto the deck and sweeping the bridge, and federal officials said the tanker had been involved in a sanctioned oil-shipping network that funneled crude to adversaries. The administration described the mission as a lawful seizure backed by warrants and focused on an illicit supply chain that enriched Maduro’s regime and empowered terrorist proxies. This isn’t theater — it’s law enforcement hitting the criminal networks that threaten our neighborhoods with drugs and our allies with illegal resource grabs.
The pressure campaign didn’t stop with a single seizure. Within days the Treasury Department targeted members of the Maduro inner circle and multiple shipping companies tied to the oil trade, freezing assets and choking off the regime’s lifelines. Sanctions are a critical tool that, when paired with bold enforcement, can squeeze corrupt networks and protect American consumers and security. The left’s instinct to appease dictators has been replaced by action, and patriots should applaud measures that strike at the heart of kleptocratic regimes.
This operation occurred against the backdrop of a significant U.S. naval presence in the Caribbean, including the carrier strike group centered on the USS Gerald R. Ford, which has been in the region as part of counter-narcotics and deterrence operations. The strategic posture was deliberate and necessary; projecting strength in the hemisphere deters bad actors and reassures partners. Those who talk about “overreach” forget that deterrence requires visible capability and the willingness to use it.
Unsurprisingly, Caracas howled that the seizure amounted to “international piracy,” and President Nicolás Maduro moved to raise military alert levels while rallying his base with fiery rhetoric. Dictators always scream when their corruption is exposed and their cash flow is interdicted; their bluster is a sign of weakness, not strength. Washington must treat Maduro’s complaints as the predictable noise from a desperate regime and not allow international theater to deter necessary action.
Patriots know the simple truth: sovereignty and order matter more than virtue-signaling. The United States has every right to enforce its laws, protect its people from drug traffickers, and prevent sanctioned oil from filling the coffers of regimes that export chaos. If that means boarding a tanker and hauling away illicit cargo, so be it — our priority is American lives and American security, not protecting foreign kleptocrats.
To the critics who warn of escalation or “war,” hear this plainly — standing down invites greater threats tomorrow. Strong, surgical actions backed by clear legal authority and congressional support are the right path; timidity only prolongs suffering and allows narco-regimes to metastasize. Congress must back robust enforcement, upgrade maritime interdiction capacity, and fund the tools needed to keep illicit networks from bleeding into our communities.
This moment is a test of resolve for our nation. We can choose to be a country that defends its borders, its laws, and its citizens, or we can return to the old playbook of appeasement that failed Venezuelans and failed Americans alike. Hardworking patriots expect their leaders to act with courage — and today’s actions are the kind of decisive leadership our country needs.
