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The US government has seized Venezuelan oil tankers, effectively taking control of the country’s crude. Donald Trump openly boasted that the United States will “keep” the oil and the ships—an act many are calling outright piracy. Journalist Ben Norton breaks down how Washington is flagrantly violating international law in its ongoing imperialist campaign against Venezuela.
US Oil Tanker Seizures & Venezuela Tensions — Quick Summary
On December 10 and again later in December 2025, the United States seized or intercepted multiple oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela as part of an expanded enforcement of sanctions and a naval “blockade” targeting Venezuelan crude exports. The first major seizure involved the supertanker Skipper, which U.S. officials say was sanctioned and tied to a “shadow fleet” used to transport Venezuelan and Iranian crude — reportedly to Asia. Following this, U.S. forces have pursued and stopped other vessels in international waters under similar authorities. The White House has stated the U.S. intends to retain the oil and prosecute under U.S. law, with President Trump openly saying the U.S. would “keep” the oil and ships. Venezuela has condemned the actions as “international piracy” and is pushing laws criminalizing such seizures, while critics question the legality of U.S. tactics under international maritime law. With Venezuela’s National Assembly on Tuesday approved a law criminalizing a wide range of actions that disrupt navigation and commerce, including the seizure of oil tankers, following this month’s U.S. seizures of two Venezuelan oil tankers in international waters amid President Donald Trump’s four-month campaign of pressure on Nicolás Maduro.
At the same time, Cuba—which relies on Venezuelan oil to keep the lights on—is close to collapse. This may be exactly what the regime in Washington wants, but it’s cruel. So too are our coercive sanctions, which kill more than 500,000 people every year.
Fortunately, in the last day or two, Mexico and its president, Shienbaum, have promised to supply oil to the island nation. Mexico will continue providing Cuba with oil for “humanitarian reasons.” Yes, humanitarian—because we are human. Please remember: no matter your politics, letting people die is not human.
The people most affected by these sanctions are often young children and the elderly. Here is a report from Popular Resistance and they also run the group Sanctions Kill I also just did an interview with Dr. Margaret Flowers, which should be up within a day or so.
Here is some of highlights of the damage being done by the United States and our allies. With the sanctions have lead to In Cuba and Venezuela; the sanctions prevent the health system from maintaining medical equipment, accessing essential medicines, and funding basic supplies, leading to rising infant mortality despite historically low rates. Dr. Mariuska Forteza Sáez, Chief of Pediatric Oncology, notes that Cuba achieves a 65% pediatric cancer survival rate even under blockade conditions, yet doctors are barred from training and purchasing first-line treatments. In Venezuela, Alison Bodine of the Venezuela Solidarity Network emphasizes that sanctions have caused over 100,000 excess deaths, blocked critical banking transactions for children’s treatments, and created psychological stress through U.S. military pressure in the Caribbean.
Both these cases show how sanctions quietly target children’s access to medicine, food, and stability, raising moral and political questions: if preventable deaths were caused by bombs rather than sanctions, would the world respond differently?
Should the intent behind a policy matter when its humanitarian consequences are so severe? Ultimately, Cuba and Venezuela reveal how sanctions function as a form of invisible warfare, imposing suffering on children while allowing accountability to be denied, and forcing us to ask whether such policies represent a failure of governance or a deliberate strategy that treats civilian suffering as acceptable collateral damage.
You can watch segments of the documentary Cuba: Healthcare Under Sanctions, which illustrate why children die under coercive sanctions regimes, along with first-hand accounts from Dr. Mariuska Forteza Sáez, Chief of Pediatric Oncology, and Alison Bodine, founding member of the Venezuela Solidarity Network, who reveal the real impact of sanctions on healthcare in Cuba and Venezuela.
I would add that they discuss the countless countries affected by the coercive hand of the United States’ empire, including Gaza and Iran, as well as the more than 30 countries that the U.S. has targeted as enemies.
This coincides with the United Nations which on December 4, held the first annual International Day against Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCMs), effectively recognizing that Western sanctions on countries like Iran, Russia, and North Korea violate international law. The UN has deemed these sanctions on Iran, China, and North Korea as violations of international human rights.
As I told Dr. Flowers today, I will repost this and share it as many times as necessary, because no matter what you believe, nobody deserves to die for the actions of their leaders.
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