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On December 10, 2025, U.S. forces executed a bold operation to seize a very large oil tanker, identified as the Skipper, off the coast of Venezuela — a decisive move announced by President Trump and carried out by the Coast Guard with support from multiple federal agencies. This was not some routine naval interception; officials say the vessel had been sanctioned and tied to illicit oil networks for years, and the visuals of armed teams boarding the ship sent a clear message that American law and power still mean something.
Reporting indicates the Skipper — formerly known as the Adisa — was implicated in smuggling schemes that benefited Iran-linked networks and carried roughly 1.8 to 2 million barrels of Venezuela’s heavy crude, with part of the cargo reportedly earmarked for Cuba. Behind the bureaucratic euphemisms lies a simple truth: those who traffic in sanctioned oil under the cover of shadow companies were enriching hostile regimes and organized crime at the expense of law and order.
The operation involved the FBI, Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and naval assets, with Attorney General Pam Bondi releasing footage that made clear the professionalism and precision of the boarding. President Trump called it “the largest tanker ever seized,” a phrase that will sting the dictators and smugglers who thought the high seas were a lawless playground.
This is the kind of unapologetic enforcement America needs: standing up for sanctions, protecting energy security, and not letting rogue regimes siphon off resources while laughing at sanctions paperwork. If the political left and their internationalist allies quiver at the sight of American resolve, that says more about their preference for weakness than it does about our intent to defend national interests.
As expected, Caracas howled that the seizure was “piracy” and threatened to take the grievance to international bodies, but Maduro’s indignation is a smoke screen for a kleptocratic cartel that depends on the black-market sale of oil to survive. The same regimes that use their citizens as props for street rallies scream the loudest when their illicit cash flows are cut off, and grandstanding in Caracas won’t change the reality that sanctions have teeth when we choose to use them.
There will be predictable hand-wringing about escalation and the risks to oil markets, and sure enough prices nudged higher on the news — a sober reminder that energy policy and national security are inseparable. For too long Washington’s elites treated American energy advantage as a blip to be surrendered; the Skipper seizure shows what happens when policy aligns with enforcement and common sense rather than appeasement.
Patriotism means protecting our laws, our borders, and our strategic leverage, and today’s operation did exactly that. Let opponents wring their hands and file protests; leadership means making hard, lawful choices to deny resources to thugs and to keep America’s interests first.
