WASHINGTON — The US has seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, a move that sent oil prices higher and sharply escalated tensions between Washington and Caracas.

"We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening," said Trump.

Asked what would happen with the oil, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess."

In response, the Venezuelan government, in a statement, accused the US of "blatant theft" and described the seizure as "an act of international piracy". It said it would denounce the incident before international bodies.

"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," Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro told supporters in Caracas after Trump announced the seizure. "We say no to interventionism, no to destabilization plans for regime change. Let the US government focus on governing its own country," Maduro said.

Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of US military intervention in Venezuela. The seizure is the first of a Venezuelan oil cargo amid US sanctions that have been in force since 2019. It is also the administration's first known action against a Venezuela-related tanker since Trump ordered a massive military buildup in the region.

Concerns aired

More than 30 US-sanctioned oil vessels doing business in Venezuela could face punishment by Washington, according to shipping data.

An estimated 15 percent of the global fleet of very large crude carriers, which can carry a maximum load of 2 million barrels per voyage, has been hit with sanctions, according to estimates from the Cyprus-based leading oil shipping company Frontline.

The US has already carried out several strikes against suspected drug vessels, which have raised concerns among lawmakers and legal experts.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X that the FBI, Homeland Security and Coast Guard, along with support from the US military, carried out a seizure warrant for a crude tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.

A 45-second video posted by Bondi showed two helicopters approaching a vessel and armed individuals in camouflage rappelling onto it.

Iran's embassy in Caracas condemned the action as a "grave violation of international laws and norms" in a post on X on Thursday.

US officials did not name the vessel or disclose its location at the time of the seizure.

British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the very large crude carrier Skipper was believed to have been seized off Venezuela early on Wednesday. The US has imposed sanctions on the tanker for what it says was its involvement in Iranian oil trading when the vessel was called the Adisa.

Oil futures rose following news of the seizure. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $62.21 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 21 cents, also 0.4 percent, to close at $58.46 per barrel.

Uruguay's Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin said his country is "very concerned" about growing tensions in the Caribbean as the United States carries out a military deployment, he told AFP in an interview on Wednesday.

Maduro has claimed that the US military buildup is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation's oil resources, which are the world's largest crude reserves.

Since early September, the US administration has carried out more than 20 strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 80 people.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday found that a broad swath of US people oppose the US military's campaign of deadly strikes on the boats, including about one-fifth of Republicans.

Agencies via Xinhua