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US Seizing Oil Tanker 'Aimed At Maduro': Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe - Bloomberg Podcasts
US forces intercepted and seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a serious escalation of tensions between the two countries.
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela — large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” President Donald Trump said at the White House. “And other things are happening.”
A senior Trump administration official referred to the craft as “a stateless vessel” that was last docked in Venezuela. Bloomberg News was first to report the seizure.
A few hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video on X showing heavily armed forces descending to the ship’s deck from a Black Hawk helicopter, in a standard commando-style tactic called “fast roping.”
Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, discusses the United States seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker and suggests this is a push to get Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out. He also talks about the Trump Administration owing the American people an explanation for the boat strikes in September, and shares his reaction to the House Armed Services ending their investigation into these same events. Wesley speaks with Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." - 12/10/2025.