from 21st Century Wire:
What happens when the world’s most powerful military seizes nearly two million barrels of crude oil from a civilian‑flagged tanker in peacetime, just off the coast of a sovereign nation? On December 10, 2025, U.S. forces boarded the Skipper, previously known as Adisa and originally The Toyo, in a dramatic operation that President Donald Trump hailed as a decisive strike against illicit networks. Yet in Caracas and across much of Latin America, the seizure looked less like law enforcement and more like a bold act of maritime aggression. Is this a justified crackdown on sanctions evasion, or the latest example of U.S. militarization of foreign policy?
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
Adding to the unease is the backdrop of a controversial U.S. campaign of maritime strikes in Caribbean and Pacific waters that have killed dozens of people since September. The Trump administration, and especially Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have publicly described these strikes as targeting “narco‑traffickers,” but, as international reporting shows, no public evidence has been released proving those vessels were actually carrying drugs when struck, and legal experts warn the actions may violate international law.
This article unpacks the Skipper seizure, the contested narratives about narcotics and terrorism that have defined recent U.S. actions, and the broader geopolitical currents swirling around Washington’s campaign against Venezuela. We explore whether this is about narcotics, counterterrorism, and sanctions enforcement, or whether, as critics argue, it is ultimately about controlling Venezuelan natural resources and waging geopolitical pressure far beyond anything publicly justified.
IMAGE: SKIPPER (IMO: 9304667) is a crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of Guyana (Source: Marine Traffic)
A High‑Stakes Raid: The Skipper Seizure and the Shadow of U.S. Military Overreach
The seizure of the Skipper was executed with striking military precision. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters swooped onto the tanker’s deck as Marine and specialized interdiction teams, part of a joint task force spanning the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Department of War, took control of the vessel without resistance. The operation was publicised in dramatic videos of fast‑roping boarding parties descending from the sky.
VIDEO: Special unit of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT) boarding the tanker Skipper near the coast of Venezuela.
President Trump described the Skipper as “a large tanker, very large, the largest ever seized,” asserting it was acting against a ship involved in sanctions violations and illicit trade. The White House linked the operation to networks tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, a narrative rooted in a 2022 U.S. Treasury sanctions designation that accused the vessel’s operators of shadowy oil smuggling.
Yet Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government was unambiguous in its condemnation. Caracas denounced the action as “a blatant theft and an act of international piracy,” and said the seizure exposed Washington’s longstanding objective: to seize Venezuela’s oil wealth under the pretext of countering narcotics and terrorism.
Read More @ 21stCenturyWire.com
