Why Trump says the US might keep Venezuela’s seized oil
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Trump said the US will keep or sell crude oil taken from Venezuelan tankers, along with the ships themselves.
Moves like this can push up global oil prices, so you might feel it at the pump. If the US keeps adding seized oil to its reserves, prices could swing again in a few months. The bigger twist is the growing risk of a direct fight in waters the US Navy rarely treats as this tense.
The seizures started after US officers grabbed two tankers this month. They also chased a third ship the Navy calls part of a Venezuelan dark fleet. The idea, Trump said, is simple: squeeze Nicolas Maduro until he cracks. But the story got stranger when US forces hit a suspected smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific. One person died. Trump said the strike proved the plan works, but Congress said the White House never showed clear proof the boats carried drugs. Lawmakers want answers, fast. Trump then raised the stakes. He said the US might sell the oil, keep it, or dump it into the Strategic Reserves. He also doubled the reward for tips that lead to Maduro’s capture and called him a major narco-trafficker. Here’s what’s driving the tension: More US warships in the Pacific and Caribbean; Deadly strikes on boats the US calls smuggling vessels; A new order to block sanctioned tankers moving in or out of Venezuela. Maduro fired back. He told Trump to fix US problems instead of grabbing ships. Venezuela, which relies on oil cash to survive, said the US moves count as aggression. Now the UN Security Council plans an emergency session after Venezuela asked for global backup. The fight is far from over. Trump said he wants to take the programme onto land, which means raids could reach ports and storage sites next.
Bullet points highlight the core drivers of the crisis: increased US warship presence, deadly strikes, and sanctions enforcement. Key actions and reactions are framed dynamically, with Trump’s statements escalating the situation and Maduro’s retorts adding to the tension. The article concludes by projecting further escalation to land-based operations.