President Donald Trump said the U.S. plans to keep the millions of barrels of oil seized from two tankers that departed Venezuelan ports earlier this month, as well as the ships themselves.
"We're going to keep it," Trump told reporters Monday in Florida after announcing plans for the development of a new class of Navy battleships. His remarks aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.
"Maybe we'll sell it," Trump said. "Maybe we'll keep it. Maybe we'll use it in the Strategic Reserves. We're keeping it. We're keeping the ships also."
The U.S. military on Saturday seized Centuries, a Panamanian-flagged vessel. The White House described the ship as a "falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil."
On Dec. 10, the Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper. U.S. officials said the vessel was part of a shadow fleet that operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. Skipper was not flying a national flag at the time of its seizure.
U.S. officials said Centuries was carrying at least 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, valued at more than $100 million based on the New York Stock Exchange's closing price Monday for West Texas Intermediate crude of $58.01 a barrel.
Trump's statement about "keeping the ships" could be complicated because Centuries was not under U.S. sanctions when it was seized. China's government condemned the ship's seizure — a Hong Kong-based company owned Centuries, even though it flew a Panamanian flag.
U.S. officials accused Centuries of operating under a false flag and said the boarding was legal under a treaty with Panama, which was notified of the interdiction.
Skipper had previously been sanctioned by the U.S., which obtained a court order before seizing the tanker and its approximately 2 million barrels of oil. After the seizure, Trump said the U.S. would carry out a "blockade" of Venezuela.
U.S. military forces have since surged into the Caribbean, including warships and an aircraft carrier strike group.
The seizures come as Trump has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's regime, including targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels. Trump also has declared the airspace around Venezuela should be considered closed and has refused to rule out airstrikes.
Last week, Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago.
Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risks at Rapidan Energy, told Axios the U.S. can legally take possession of the oil by pursuing asset forfeiture proceedings in federal court.
"The legitimate owner would have to come in and defend it. And if they lose the claim, the U.S. government takes legal possession," Ferreira said.
He noted that in 2023, the Department of Justice seized a non-sanctioned vessel called the Suez Rajan carrying sanctioned Iranian oil, which the U.S. later sold at a profit.
"It's not unprecedented. It's just unprecedented with Venezuela because it hasn't happened before," Ferreira said. "The rest of the world has recognized these sanctions. So, it really shouldn't come as that much of a surprise."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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