Posted on 12/23/2025 3:28:48 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Donald Trump has said the US will keep or sell the crude oil contained on tankers it has seized off the coast of Venezuela, as well as the vessels themselves.
The US president's comments came as Washington continues to pressure the South American country's leader Nicolás Maduro to stand down.
Speaking to reporters in Florida on Monday, Trump said of the oil "we're going to keep it", adding: "Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it. Maybe we'll use it in the Strategic Reserves. We're keeping the ships also."
The Trump administration has accused Venezuela of using oil revenues to fund drug-related crime, while Caracas has condemned the seizures as "piracy".
The US military has seized two oil tankers this month, including one on Saturday.
Trump issued his latest warning as the US Coast Guard continued to pursue a third oil tanker, which authorities described as part of a Venezuelan "dark fleet" used to evade US sanctions.
"It's moving along, and we'll end up getting it," Trump said.
Separately on Monday, the US military said it carried out a strike on what it said was a suspected trafficking vessel in international waters in the eastern Pacific. US Southern Command said one person was killed.
When asked whether the goal of the seizures was to force Maduro from power, Trump responded: "Well, I think it probably would... That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it'd be smart for him to do that. But again, we're gonna find out."
The US has been building up its military presence in the Pacific and Caribbean Seas and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.
It has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
I’d promise to return the money from the oil to the Venezuelan government, after Maduro is gone.
That would be theft. Justified just like the left does when it steals elections. The US can always pay for it at the appropriate time. Didn’t we pay Iran for the upfront money the Shah gave is for F-15’s? Took 40+ years.
It’s astonishing how every one of these articles sounds like Trump is doing something awful to poor Mr. Maduro.
Say we’re going to use it to fund drug rehab.
Fill the reserve....
I won’t pretend to know the laws attached to such a scenario, but can we do that? Can we seize the oil being transported?
Refill the reserve, first...
Then sell the restt to reduce national debt...
Nicely done.
Sell it. it is garbage. I don’t think we have any refineries that can handle the high Sulphur content. I thin there was a plant in texas but not sure now.
Can't. At least not without a lot of processing. SPR crudes are typically lighter domestics like West Texas Intermediate or imports like Arabian Light, not heavy Venezuelan grades. You cannot mix the two.
Venezuelan crude oil, especially from the Orinoco Belt, is typically classified as extra-heavy or heavy sour crude. It has a low API gravity (often 8-16° for blends like Merey, or even lower for undiluted bitumen), high sulfur content (2-4% or more), and high viscosity (hundreds to thousands of centistokes at typical temperatures, requiring dilution for transport).
These properties make it unsuitable for direct storage in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which is designed for medium-gravity crudes.The SPR stores a mix of sweet (≤0.50% sulfur) and sour (≤1.99% sulfur) crudes, primarily in the 30-40° API gravity range. It does not contain heavy crudes below about 22° API, as these can pose handling and compatibility issues in the underground salt caverns (e.g., flow problems without heating or blending, which the SPR isn't equipped for). SPR specifications also limit viscosity (max 13 cSt at 37.8°C) and require certain distillation yields that heavy crudes like Orinoco don't meet, with high residuum fractions that could affect long-term storage stability.
Adding it to the SPR would require processing and/or blending rather than direct addition, as the oil doesn't align with existing SPR stocks.
Early in my career, I was burning "Bunker C" fuel in boilers. It is roughly akin to the Venezuela crudes. You have to heat the stuff to keep it fluid and pumpable. If you stop heating it, it freezes into a solid. Nasty stuff.
Same here, put it in an interest baring account and let the people know its all yours when snapper-head is gone.
If any other country was doing this, wouldn’t anyone objective person consider this an act of piracy?
Then, what? You want us to go in and nation build?
There consequences for being the world's policeman and puppet master.
There is no guarantee that what will emerge will be any better for us and could be even worse for those living there.
It's past time we got out Regime Changes R Us business.
Trump : “We are going to keep it and your little ship too!”
Sorry, stole that off my friend ...
I never said nation build, but if you want to avoid accusations that this is about oil or have resistance from the Venezuelan people, you have to give them something.
They still owe the money when they nationalized it.
Venezuela had previously seized some US company owned assets and oil. The oil being confiscated is on tankers that are operating illegally (ghost fleet). Other loaded tankers have been allowed export passage unhindered.
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