A U.S. military helicopter flies near an oil tanker during a raid described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as its seizure by the United States off the coast of Venezuela, December 10, 2025, in a still image from video.

The Trump administration intends to transport an oil tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela to a U.S. port and claim the oil it's carrying, the White House said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Dec. 11 press conference that the oil tanker is currently under a forfeiture process. U.S. officials are aboard the vessel interviewing crew members and seizing evidence, she added.

"There is a legal process for the seizure of that oil and that legal process will be followed," Leavitt said.

The Dec. 10 seizure of the ship marked a major escalation in Trump's pressure campaign on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. military also has been striking alleged drug boats in the waters off Venezuela in a campaign criticized by legal experts, and amassing military forces in the region.

The U.S. military worked with federal law enforcement officials to seize the tanker, Leavitt said. The Department of Justice secured a warrant before the maneuver "because it's a sanctioned shadow vessel known for carrying black market, sanctioned oil."

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Dec. 10 the tanker was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Oil is a major source of revenue for both the Venezuelan and Iranian regimes.

Administration officials have described the Venezuelan campaign as an effort to crack down on the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States. Leavitt also said Trump is committed to "effectuating this administration's sanction policy, and that's what you saw and the world saw take place yesterday."

"The Trump administration is focused on doing many things in the Western Hemisphere," she told reporters.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Joey Garrison

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration taking seized oil tanker to US, claiming oil

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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