US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

"We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump said the tanker "was seized for a very good reason."

The US president added that "other things are happening," without offering any additional details. Reporters asked Trump what would happen with the oil, he replied: "We keep it, I guess."  

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video to X that appeared to show US forces boarding the tanker. 

Venezuela denounces seizure of oil tanker

In response, Caracas accused Washington of "blatant theft" as the Venezuelan government vowed to "defend its sovereignty, natural resources, and national dignity with absolute determination."

A statement from the Foreign Ministry added that the Latin American country "strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy." 

It added that they would denounce the seizure in front of international bodies.

Vessel seizure latest escalation between Washington and Maduro

The announcement marks the latest escalation between the Trump administration and the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and it comes as opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is believed to have left the country for Oslo.

In an interview with US news outlet Politico earlier this week, Trump said that Maduro's "days are numbered," declining to rule out a US ground invasion against Venezuela.

Venezuela has largest proven oil reserves

The oil tanker seizure comes weeks after the Trump administration has dramatically increased US presence in the Caribbean, near Venezuelan waters, and conducted strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats originating from Venezuela. 

The US has been amassing a fleet of warships, including the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.

Unnamed US officials said the tanker's seizure was led by the US Coast Guard and supported by the Navy. 

The New York Times and CBS News identified the tanker as a vessel called the Skipper. The New York Times said officials they spoke to said the vessel was carrying Venezuelan oil from the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). 

But it is not yet clear which country's flag the vessel was flying.

The South American nation has the world's largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels of oil per day.

But US sanctions on its oil industry have left Venezuela locked out of global oil markets, selling most of its output at a steep discount to refiners in China.

Maduro urges Trump to 'focus on own country'

But despite the tensions with the US, Venezuela still managed to increase oil exports this year. Until now, Washington had not interfered with the country's oil flows. 

Instead, the US military had been targeting small boats they said were working out of Venezuela and trafficking drugs. Despite this, Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in early December, who had been convicted of drug trafficking during the Biden presidency.

Meanwhile, Maduro has criticized Trump's actions in the Caribbean, accusing the US of plotting regime change and seeking to seize Venezuela's oil reserves.

"From Venezuela, we ask and demand an end to the illegal and brutal interventionism of the United States government in Venezuela and in Latin America," Maduro told supporters in Caracas in response to the news about the vessel's seizure.

 "We say no to interventionism, no to destabilization plans for regime change. Let the US government focus on governing its own country," Maduro added.

Edited by: Sean Sinico, Roshni Majumdar, Karl Sexton