Why the U.S. just seized a massive oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast
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Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and a review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Thursday, December 11th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the Republican state pushing back on Trump, why the U.S. won't make its roads safer, and the trend that's causing major headaches at In-N-Out Burger.
But first, to yesterday's serious escalation of U.S. military pressure on Venezuela.
We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela. Large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening.
The White House later released a video of troops dropping from a helicopter onto the tanker, reportedly called the Skipper, and taking control. This large-scale operation marks a new chapter in President Trump's operations in the Caribbean. Bloomberg State Department reporter Eric Martin was first to the story and explained for us the significance.
This is an extraordinary event that we have never seen in the Caribbean before. And what makes it extraordinary is that this seizure of this oil, this Venezuelan oil, is going to put a chill on insurers who insure these kind of cargos. And this would be really tightening the grip of the U.S., the pressure on the Maduro regime.
The administration has been building its military presence there for weeks now as it expands what it says is an operation against drug cartels. But this intervention appears to be much broader, targeting the country's economic lifeblood.
Oil is really one of the main, if not the only thing that Venezuela really sells. And it's the main revenue generator for this economy. We've seen this economy shrink drastically in the last several years because of the sanctions and because of the difficulty for Venezuela to find a market for its oil.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker was involved in an illicit network and that it was transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Bloomberg and elsewhere quoted sources suggesting the shipment itself was heading for Cuba, which depends on Venezuela to sustain power.
US officials have long suspected the Maduro regime of selling sanctioned crude oil through Cuba illegally in order to benefit from the profits and also making the sales harder to trace. So in the view of US officials, this was one way that they were able to carry out corruption was by taking oil to Cuba and selling it on the black market.
And if you're wondering where that oil goes now, Trump said this.
Well, we keep it, I guess. Where does it go? What point does it go to? Well, you have to follow the tanker. You know, you're a good newsman. Just follow the tanker. Follow it. Get a helicopter and follow the tanker. But we're going to, I guess soon we're going to keep the oil.
Venezuela has accused the administration of international piracy. This all comes as the Trump administration is still under intense congressional scrutiny on its strikes on alleged drug boats. The House passed a bill yesterday that would pressure Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth to disclose all of his orders authorizing close to two dozen military attacks in the region. Democratic Senator Mark Warner was on the stage at a semaphore conference shortly after the news of the tanker operation came in. He questioned why the U.S. couldn't have just intercepted the alleged drug boats if they were able to seize a giant tanker and said Trump had not yet made the case for any armed conflict.
I got a lot of the families of the sailors who were down there who were all saying, I don't want my son and daughter. One, are they going to be in a war in harm's way? And two, what's our goal?
Why did the U.S. seize an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast?
And I don't think we've articulated that goal in a way that passes muster with the public, with the Congress, and Lord knows with the world.
Meanwhile, Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said their inquiry into the strikes that killed two shipwrecked survivors was done and that he had the information he needed.
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