{"id":3258,"date":"2025-12-11T23:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T23:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3258"},"modified":"2025-12-11T23:00:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T23:00:35","slug":"u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-near-venezuela-in-pressure-campaign-on-maduro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3258","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Near Venezuela in Pressure Campaign on Maduro"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the <strong>U.S.<\/strong> seizure of an oil tanker near <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>\u2019s bargaining position with <strong>Russia<\/strong>, and <strong>M23 rebels<\/strong> seizing a strategic town in the <strong>Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Full Steam Ahead<\/h3>\n<p>U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/trump-administration-seizes-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-coast-us-officials-say-2025-12-10\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=121125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">confirmed<\/a> late Wednesday, marking a new escalation in the White House\u2019s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the <strong>U.S.<\/strong> seizure of an oil tanker near <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>\u2019s bargaining position with <strong>Russia<\/strong>, and <strong>M23 rebels<\/strong> seizing a strategic town in the <strong>Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Full Steam Ahead<\/h3>\n<p>U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/trump-administration-seizes-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-coast-us-officials-say-2025-12-10\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=121125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">confirmed<\/a> late Wednesday, marking a new escalation in the White House\u2019s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>A senior U.S. administration official told CNN that the oil tanker, known as the <em>Skipper<\/em>, was carrying Venezuelan crude when it was apprehended in international waters. Washington sanctioned the <em>Skipper<\/em> in 2022 \u201cdue to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,\u201d U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AGPamBondi\/status\/1998875795151024337\">wrote<\/a> on X. This included allegedly facilitating oil trades for Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Lebanese Hezbollah, a proxy group of Tehran. According to CNN, the tanker was flying a Guyana flag but is not registered in that country.<\/p>\n<p>This was the first U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil cargo since Trump first imposed sweeping oil sanctions on the country in 2019. Caracas <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7340189\/venezuela-trump-administration-maduro-oil-tanker-seized-piracy\/\">denounced<\/a> the seizure as \u201cblatant theft and an act of international piracy,\u201d and the Iranian Embassy in Venezuela <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Eiranencaracas\/status\/1998924415149473980\">called it<\/a> a \u201cgrave violation of international laws and norms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked on Wednesday what would happen to the captured oil, Trump said, \u201cWe keep it, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump has repeatedly said he is considering U.S. military strikes inside Venezuela as part of a broader operation against <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/03\/trump-usa-venezuela-regime-change-maduro-cartels\/\">what the administration has labeled \u201cnarco-terrorism<\/a>\u201d in Latin America. That operation has included more than 20 U.S. strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/02\/politics\/timeline-us-strikes-caribbean-pacific-vis\">87 people<\/a>; a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/03\/military-buildup-venezuela-us-cuba-trump-maduro\/\">massive buildup<\/a> of U.S. military assets in the region; and the designation of Venezuela\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2025\/11\/terrorist-designations-of-cartel-de-los-soles\">Cartel de los Soles<\/a> as a foreign terrorist organization, which Trump has accused Maduro of overseeing.<\/p>\n<p>Maduro claims that Trump\u2019s actions are part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/01\/venezuela-iraq-regime-change-trump\/\">wider scheme<\/a> to enact regime change in Caracas and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/02\/trump-venezuela-fixation-oil-regime-change-maduro\/\">take control<\/a> of the country\u2019s oil resources; Venezuela has the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/07\/venezuela-oil-economy-chavez-maduro\/\">largest crude reserves<\/a> in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Many legal experts have said the U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats are likely illegal under both U.S. and international law. Opposition toward the Trump administration\u2019s actions has also grown in the United States. According to a Reuters\/Ipsos poll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/broad-slice-americans-oppose-venezuela-boat-strikes-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2025-12-10\/\">released<\/a> earlier this month, nearly half of all Americans surveyed do not approve of the strikes, including roughly one-fifth of Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>This comes as U.S. lawmakers express concerns that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s order to conduct a double-tap strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/10\/trump-icc-sanctions-hegseth-war-crimes-boat-strike-afghanistan-israel-netanyahu\/\">violated international law<\/a>. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/majority-us-house-backs-massive-defense-policy-bill-voting-continues-2025-12-10\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=121125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">passed<\/a> a spending bill authorizing a record $901 billion to the defense budget. However, the legislation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/10\/us\/politics\/house-approves-defense-bill.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20251211&amp;instance_id=167800&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=212110&amp;smid=url-share&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">mandated<\/a> that the Pentagon send Congress the full, unedited video of the strike, adding that it will withhold 25 percent of Hegseth\u2019s travel budget if it fails to comply. Earlier this week, Hegseth said he is <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/boat-strikes-pete-hegseth-venezuela-9f46a5f074b5b3c979ee41082949b196\">still weighing<\/a> whether to release the video.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Possible territorial concessions? <\/strong>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-war-trump-peace-zelenskyy-europe-6392f625b2c77b93d0bd86c06cafb2a5?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%20Dec_11_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">convened<\/a> talks on Thursday with members of the so-called coalition of the willing\u2014a group of more than 30 countries that back Ukraine\u2014to discuss the terms of a potential peace deal with Russia. The meeting comes as the United States is putting intense pressure on Kyiv to accept territorial concessions, among other demands by Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>Trump spoke to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday, during which he warned that Kyiv \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-war-trump-peace-elections-zelenskyy-2506b9f7c8c9a62ea2fa3737d400877f\">has to be realistic<\/a>\u201d about its bargaining position. The U.S. president has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/12\/09\/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693\">previously called<\/a> Ukraine\u2019s European allies weak while claiming that Russia has the \u201cupper hand\u201d and will likely win the war.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Merz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cgjnd9y52pno\">confirmed<\/a> that Ukraine has sent a revised peace plan to the United States that addresses which territorial concessions Kyiv might be prepared to make. At the end of the day, though, the decision must be made by Zelensky and the Ukrainian people, Merz said, adding, \u201cIt would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people will not accept after four years of suffering and death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear what Kyiv might be willing to surrender to Moscow. Russia has demanded that Ukraine relinquish control of the entire Donbas region, despite Ukrainian troops still holding around 14.5 percent of the area. Zelensky has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/09\/zelensky-trump-cede-territory-russia-ukraine-donbas\/\">previously considered<\/a> such concessions a red line, saying Kyiv has no \u201clegal\u201d or \u201cmoral\u201d right to cede any land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Battlefield advantage. <\/strong>M23 rebels <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africanews.com\/2025\/12\/10\/m23-rebels-claim-control-of-uvira-in-eastern-congo\/\">seized<\/a> control of the strategic city of Uvira in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday, threatening an already shaky U.S.-<a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/07\/rwanda-congo-peace-agreement-war\/\">brokered peace deal<\/a> between Congo and Rwanda and aggravating fears of spillover violence into neighboring Burundi. United Nations experts have <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.un.org\/en\/s\/2024\/432\">said<\/a> that Rwanda provides military support for M23, which Kigali denies; the U.S.-brokered deal did not include the rebel group.<\/p>\n<p>Uvira has served as the base for Congo\u2019s provincial government in South Kivu since February, when M23 captured the provincial capital of Bukavu. Uvira is located along Congo\u2019s border with Burundi, which has joined Congolese forces in recent months, as Burundi relies on Uvira for access to essential supplies, such as fuel. Between Dec. 5 and 8, the neighboring nation also saw nearly 25,000 displaced Congolese <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/m23-consolidates-control-over-congo-town-blow-peace-talks-2025-12-11\/\">escape<\/a> into its territory. Capturing Uvira means that M23 now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/10\/world\/africa\/congo-m23-kivu-rwanda-uvira-burundi-trump.html\">essentially controls<\/a> both the North and South Kivu regions in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Taking on China. <\/strong>Mexican lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/retail-consumer\/mexicos-senate-approves-tariff-hikes-chinese-other-asian-imports-2025-12-11\/\">approved<\/a> up to 50 percent tariffs on Chinese imports on Wednesday amid <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/09\/trump-mexico-tariffs-water-farmers-ranchers-texas\/\">growing pressure<\/a> from Washington to counter Beijing\u2019s influence. The bill, which passed the Senate by a 76-5 vote (with 35 abstaining), also affects other countries that Mexico does not have trade agreements with, including India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand.<\/p>\n<p>China is the second-largest exporter to Mexico after the United States, accounting for $130 billion worth of goods last year. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c36z43ll06zo\">said<\/a> that the tariffs, which will cover everything from automotive parts to textiles to steel and aluminum, are necessary to boost domestic production.<\/p>\n<p>They are also being seen as an attempt to appease Trump, who has accused Mexico of being a backdoor for Chinese goods entering the United States. In recent months, the White House has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/11\/world\/americas\/mexico-tariffs-china.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20251211&amp;instance_id=167800&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=212110&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">imposed tariffs<\/a> on Mexican goods made with Chinese parts, forcing some Mexican industries to shift their supply chains away from Beijing. Mexico City has made it clear that it does not want to lose its No. 1 trading partner, as U.S. goods to Mexico totaled $334 billion in 2024\u2014nearly three times the size of China\u2019s sales.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Beijing\u2019s Commerce Ministry condemned Mexico\u2019s legislation, warning that it would \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/english.news.cn\/20251211\/031b1174a8854e89b08f6b97315052d7\/c.html\">substantially harm<\/a>\u201d Mexico City\u2019s trading partners. But Sheinbaum is expected to approve the bill in the coming days, meaning duties will take effect in January.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n<p>Mamma mia! On Wednesday, the United Nations\u2019 cultural agency, UNESCO, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/lifestyle\/italys-rich-culinary-legacy-earns-place-unesco-cultural-heritage-list-2025-12-10\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=121125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">recognized<\/a> Italy\u2019s national cuisine as an \u201cintangible cultural heritage\u201d\u2014paying tribute to pizza, pasta, and risotto, among others dishes. The country hopes that the accolade will boost tourism, with industry experts estimating that recognition could bring in an additional 18 million overnight stays. Truly, in crust we trust.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/11\/us-forces-seize-venezuela-oil-tanker-trump-pressure-campaign-maduro\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuela, Ukraine\u2019s bargaining position with Russia, and M23 rebels seizing a strategic town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Full Steam Ahead U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. President Donald [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}