The seizure of the oil tanker Skipper by the United States off the coast of Venezuela on December 11, 2025, has set off a diplomatic firestorm and underscored the escalating tensions between Washington, Caracas, and Havana. The incident, which U.S. officials describe as part of a broader campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has been swiftly condemned by Cuba as an act of “piracy and maritime terrorism” and a “serious violation of international law,” according to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, as reported by The Guardian.
The Skipper, a crude oil tanker believed to be carrying nearly 2 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude, was en route to the Cuban port of Matanzas when it was intercepted. Internal data from Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, cited by The New York Times, confirms the ship’s cargo and destination. Yet, the vessel’s journey was far from straightforward. Shortly after leaving Venezuela, the Skipper off-loaded approximately 50,000 barrels to another ship bound for Cuba, before altering course toward Asia. Despite its listed destination, the tanker was seized by U.S. authorities as it sailed under the flag of Guyana—a registration that, according to U.S. officials, was fraudulent.
This seizure is only the latest move in a months-long pressure campaign led by President Trump against the Maduro regime. The U.S. government has accused Maduro of being an “illegitimate leader” and of heading the so-called Cartel de los Soles, which Washington has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The Trump administration’s actions in the region have been multi-pronged: targeting oil shipments, ramping up sanctions, and launching a series of lethal strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats off Venezuela’s coast.
Since early September 2025, the U.S. military has conducted at least 22 strikes against purported drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, resulting in the deaths of at least 87 suspected “narco-terrorists,” according to The Hill. President Trump has claimed that these actions have drastically curtailed maritime drug trafficking, stating on December 12, 2025, “If you look at drug traffic, drug traffic by sea is down 92 percent.” The administration argues that every vessel intercepted represents a blow to the drug cartels and potentially saves thousands of American lives.
Yet, these aggressive tactics have not come without controversy. The strikes have become a political lightning rod, especially after reports that survivors of one strike in September were subsequently killed—a move many Democrats have decried as a war crime. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who authorized the operations, has denied ordering the killing of survivors, but the incident has fueled heated debate in Washington.
Migratory pressures have also been cited by President Trump as a key driver of his Venezuela policy. He has repeatedly blamed Maduro for the influx of migrants to the U.S., asserting, “They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons,” and emphasizing the need to “take care of Venezuela.” The scale of Venezuelan migration is indeed significant: as of 2023, there were about 770,000 Venezuelan immigrants in the United States, up from just 33,000 in 1980, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The situation became even more precarious after an early October 2025 Supreme Court ruling led to more than a quarter million Venezuelans losing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the U.S.—a protection that expired in November 2025.
Oil remains at the heart of the dispute. Venezuela’s economy is heavily dependent on oil, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of its export revenues. The Skipper’s seizure, therefore, strikes at a vital artery for both the Maduro government and its allies in Havana. According to The New York Times, the Skipper had a history of carrying oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, including multiple trips to Iran and Venezuela over the past two years. Satellite tracking data and analysis by TankerTrackers.com suggest the vessel may have attempted to conceal its activities by falsifying its location data and flying a false flag.
For Cuba, the impact is immediate and severe. The Cuban Foreign Ministry’s statement, as reported by The Guardian, denounced the U.S. action as part of an “escalation aimed at hampering Venezuela’s legitimate right to freely use and trade its natural resources with other nations, including the supplies of hydrocarbons to Cuba.” The ministry further argued that the seizure “negatively affects Cuba and intensifies the United States’ policy of maximum pressure and economic suffocation.” In recent years, Cuba has reportedly sold much of the Venezuelan oil it receives to China in exchange for hard currency, a lifeline for the island’s struggling economy.
Washington’s military buildup in the region has only heightened the sense of crisis. The U.S. Southern Command area now hosts F-35 fighter jets, warships, Marines, spy planes, at least one submarine, and the USS Gerald R. Ford—the world’s largest aircraft carrier. President Trump has not ruled out further escalation, warning that strikes inside Venezuela “could come soon,” even as he leaves the door open for negotiation with Maduro. Secretary of State Rubio, a prominent Cuba hawk, insists that the U.S. is not seeking regime change, though he recently expressed skepticism about the possibility of reaching any durable agreement with the Venezuelan leader. “At the end of the day with Maduro — and his problem basically is that this is a guy, if you wanted to make a deal with him, I don’t know how you’d do,” Rubio said on Fox News’s “Hannity.” “He’s broken every deal he’s ever made.”
The international community is watching closely. While some analysts suggest that a full oil blockade is unlikely—given Washington’s own reliance on Venezuelan imports and potential international backlash—experts like Francisco R. Rodríguez of the Center for Economic and Policy Research warn that continued seizures of Venezuelan tankers could effectively amount to a “de facto naval blockade.” Such a move, Rodríguez told The Hill, could lead to a “complete collapse in Venezuelan oil exports.”
As the Skipper now reportedly heads for Galveston, Texas, the repercussions of its seizure are reverberating across the Caribbean and beyond. For the Trump administration, the operation represents another front in its campaign to oust Maduro and curb the influence of what it sees as hostile actors in the region. For Cuba and Venezuela, it is a stark reminder of their vulnerability to U.S. economic and military power—and a rallying cry against what they describe as American overreach.
The standoff over the Skipper is unlikely to be the last such confrontation. With oil, migration, and narcotics trafficking all intertwined in the region’s geopolitical drama, the stakes remain high for all involved. The coming weeks may reveal whether this latest escalation will force a breakthrough—or simply deepen the impasse among Washington, Caracas, and Havana.
As the world watches, the fate of the Skipper has become a symbol of the broader struggle for power, resources, and influence in the Americas—a struggle with no easy answers and no end in sight.
