The seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker was an extraordinarily shocking move by the Trump administration. Will it be followed by the seizure of more oil tankers? This is a question that the press really needs to be asking right now. If a U.S. blockade stops the flow of oil coming out of Venezuela, the Chinese will be absolutely furious. As you will see below, China buys more Venezuelan oil than anyone else. Just imagine how we would feel if someone started grabbing tankers of oil that were eventually headed to the United States. If U.S. officials really do intend to impose a blockade on Venezuelan oil, this could be the beginning of the end of our relationship with the Chinese, and it could potentially lead to global war.
When he was asked about the seizure of the Venezuelan tanker, President Trump said that it was the “largest one ever seized”…
The U.S. military has seized an oil tanker off of Venezuela’s coast, President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday as his administration continues to escalate military activity in the region.
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually.”
Trump did not provide details on the seizure but said that it was an “interesting day.”
Video footage of the seizure is quite dramatic.
Soldiers that had arrived in a helicopter rappelled down ropes and raced to the bridge of the tanker…
Footage released by the Trump administration on Wednesday showed American forces swooping on the tanker in helicopters and rappelling down ropes.
Troops with guns drawn darted up stairs to the bridge to take control of the vessel off the coast of Venezuela.
As soon as news of this seizure got out, shocked reactions started coming in from all over the globe on social media.
People could hardly believe what had just happened.
On Twitter, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that this particular tanker was involved in “an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations”…
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.
Is this the only tanker that the U.S. intends to seize, or is this the beginning of a full-blown blockade?
The Chinese would be very interested in the answer to that question, because they import more oil from Venezuela than everyone else combined…
Venezuela is one of the largest suppliers of oil to China, which has been the destination of between 55 percent and 90 percent of the country’s oil exports.
A Bloomberg report called the move ‘a serious escalation’ after Trump demanded Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro step down. Caracas did not immediately respond to the seizure.
During 2023, China was importing approximately 430,000 barrels of oil a day from Venezuela.
Are we going to try to keep the Chinese from getting any more oil from the Venezuelans from now on?
If so, how will the Chinese respond?
Thanks to their current spat with Japan, the Chinese are already in a really sour mood.
On Tuesday, the Russians and the Chinese conducted a very sizable show of force near Japanese territory…
A Newsweek map shows Russia and China deployed air and naval units—including bombers and an aircraft carrier—for a joint patrol and training near Japan on Tuesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the joint air patrol was not directed against third countries, while the Chinese military said the aerial maneuver demonstrated their ability to address security challenges and maintain peace and stability in the region.
Japan‘s Defense Ministry said it scrambled fighter jets to intercept the Russia–China air formation and dispatched a warship to continue monitoring and gathering intelligence on the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning, following a “radar lock-on” incident last week.
We should be doing what we can to ease tensions with the Chinese.
Needless to say, the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker is not going to help matters at all.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov just warned that Russia is prepared to “respond” to any deployment of European troops in Ukraine…
Lavrov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had already stressed that “we are not going to wage war with Europe. We don’t even have such thoughts. But we will respond to any hostile steps, including the deployment of European military contingents in Ukraine and the expropriation of Russian assets,” state media reported.
Our European allies must not send forces into Ukraine, because once the Russians start shooting at them there will be no turning back.
But they are thinking of doing it anyway.
And once the Europeans and the Russians start shooting at one another, there is no way that we will be able to stay out of it.
With so much going on elsewhere, it is a really bad time to be starting a war in South America.
But we just keep daring the Venezuelans to shoot at us. In fact, two F-18 fighter jets spent 40 minutes in Venezuelan airspace on Tuesday…
Two U.S. F-18 fighter jets flying in tandem entered Venezuelan airspace around noon Tuesday, circling over the Gulf of Venezuela in the latest show of force against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
The flyover — carried out despite the Venezuelan regime’s possession of a number of Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries — took place less than 100 miles northeast of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city. Thousands of Venezuelans tracked the aircraft online through specialized tracking websites, watching as the jets traced a bow-tie-shaped pattern over the gulf.
The fighters remained inside Venezuelan airspace for at least 40 minutes at an altitude of roughly 25,000 feet before heading north and leaving the area.
We should be very thankful that the Venezuelans showed such restraint.
They probably realize that Washington is looking for an excuse to light them up.
And President Trump is warning Colombian President Gustavo Petro that he could be next…
“He’s going to have himself some big problems if he doesn’t wise up,” he added. “He better wise up or he’ll be next. I hope he’s listening. He’s going to be next.”
Trump noted that Colombia is a “major” drug producer and helps import narcotics into the U.S.
We really are living during a time of “wars and rumors of wars”.
I know that a lot of people out there wish that this was not true, but it is.
Leaders all over the globe have come down with a really bad case of war fever.
We have a very limited window of opportunity to pull back from the brink, and if that doesn’t happen 2026 could rapidly turn into one giant nightmare.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.