Russian Foreign Minister Demands Trump Administration Explain U.S. Seizure of Venezuelan Oil Tanker

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has demanded that the Trump administration explain why U.S. forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker.

The seizure occurred Wednesday off the coast of Venezuela and sent oil prices higher, escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas. The Venezuelan government accused the United States of “blatant theft” and described the incident as an act of international piracy, stating it would denounce the event before international bodies.

Lavrov said there is “too little information here because I do not know how the United States views the Venezuelan situation.” He noted that President Trump has publicly demanded a regime change or voluntary resignation of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro while Chevron continues to operate in the country, buying Venezuelan oil. Lavrov added that they need to determine what illegal volumes of fuel were on the seized tanker.

The vessel, described as a “sanctioned shadow vessel” known for carrying black-market sanctioned oil to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), will be taken to a U.S. port, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

This action marks the first of a Venezuelan oil cargo seized under U.S. sanctions that have been in place since 2019 and is also the Trump administration’s initial known intervention against a Venezuela-related tanker following his order for a regional military buildup. The United States has previously conducted several strikes on suspected drug vessels, raising concerns among lawmakers and legal experts.