Attorney General Pam Bondi published a video on
The joint operation of the FBI, Homeland Security and the Coast Guard
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the War Department, he explained, “executed a seizure warrant for a tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”
The charges: illicit transportation of Venezuelan and Iranian oil
«For several years – he declared – the tanker was sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil transport network in support of foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely, and our investigation with the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transportation of sanctioned oil continues.”
Operation in international waters without incident
The seizure occurred in international waters, a senior U.S. official said, and occurred without incident or casualties, either among U.S. personnel or the tanker’s crew.
The Skipper tanker and the federal seizure warrant
The vessel, called Skipper, was carrying Venezuelan crude, the official added. The tanker had previously been associated with Iranian oil, and a federal judge had issued a warrant for its seizure due to those ties.