Donald Trump announced the operation had taken place during a meeting of business leaders at the White House, telling reporters: "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually."
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a video of the operation, revealing the FBI, Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, and Department of Defence were involved.
She said the US forces "executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".
Venezuela's government said the seizure "constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy."
Ms Bondi said the seized vessel - believed to be a tanker named Skipper - has been sanctioned by the US for many years "due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations".
She did not name the vessel, what flag it sailed under, or exactly where the incident took place.
UK maritime risk management group Vanguard said that the tanker Skipper - which the US sanctioned for alleged involvement in Iranian oil trading under the name Adisa - was believed to be the target.
Trump offers ominous commentary
Without giving additional information on the operation, Mr Trump added during the White House meeting that "other things are happening".
Later, Mr Trump said the tanker was "seized for a very good reason", and when asked what will happen to the oil on board, he added: "Well, we keep it, I suppose."
How did we get here?
It marks another escalation from the US after months of pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The White House accuses Mr Maduro of presiding over a narcotrafficking operation in Venezuela, which he denies.
The US has escalated military deployments against the Latin American country over the last few months, with the president suggesting American forces could launch a land attack.
Speaking to Politico on Tuesday, Mr Trump declined to comment on whether US troops would enter Venezuela, but warned Mr Maduro's "days are numbered".
On 2 September, the White House posted on X that it had conducted a strike against so-called "narcoterrorists" shipping fentanyl to the US, without providing direct evidence of the alleged crime.
Sky News has verified that in the past four months, 23 boats have been targeted in 22 strikes, killing 87 people.
Read more: Is this what the beginning of a war looks like?
Venezuela: 'It has always been about our oil'
The Maduro government describes America's actions as a grab for Venezuela's oil reserves, which are among the biggest in the world.
At a rally before a ruling-party-organised demonstration in Caracas on Wednesday, Mr Maduro did not address the seizure but told supporters Venezuela is "prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary".
Flanked by senior officials, he said that only the ruling party can "guarantee peace, stability, and the harmonious development of Venezuela, South America and the Caribbean".
His government did issue a statement, accusing the US of "piracy" and "imperial abuses".
Of the US campaign, it said: "It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people."
Read more on Venezuela:
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Is military confrontation possible?
Geoffrey Corn, director of the Centre for Military Law at Texas Tech University, told Sky's Mark Austin on The World that Mr Trump's remarks on land strikes "ostensibly" refer to drug cartel members.
Formerly a senior adviser to the US army on warfare law, Mr Corn added: "That could very easily provide the pretext for some confrontation between Venezuelan armed forces and US armed forces.
"And then that would open the door to a broader campaign to basically negate the power of the Venezuelan military."
Donald Trump confirmed the seizure to reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Using US forces to seize an oil tanker is incredibly unusual and marks the latest push by the Trump administration to mount pressure on Venezuela's government.
It comes as the US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on boats the government claims were drug-smuggling in the Caribbean.
Here is everything we know about the seizure.
What happened?
US Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a video of American troops executing a seizure warrant on the crude oil tanker.
The footage shows a helicopter hovering just a few feet above the ship as forces quickly descend on ropes.
The troops dressed in camouflage uniforms can be seen storming across the deck, armed with large firearms, before pointing their weapons at a door and entering.
The video, likely recorded from another helicopter, also shows forces running upstairs to the bridge as others move throughout the superstructure of the ship.
Ms Bondi confirmed that the FBI, Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, and Department of Defence were involved.
The US Coast Guard team included elite forces trained in high-risk boarding from the Maritime Security Response Teams, which specialises in maritime counterterrorism and counternarcotics, according to two US officials.
Active-duty US military soldiers were also involved in the seizure. Although they were not permitted to board the tanker as they were deployed on Title 10 (active duty) orders, they aided with overhead surveillance and helicopter transport, the officials said.
Why was the tanker seized?
Ms Bondi said on X that the ship was "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 organisations," she added.
She did not name the vessel, what flag the vessel sailed under, or exactly where the incident took place.
But UK maritime risk management group Vanguard said that the seized tanker is called Skipper, which the US sanctioned for alleged involvement in Iranian oil trading under the name Adisa.
The ship left Venezuela's main oil port of Jose between 4 and 5 December after loading about 1.1 million barrels of oil, according to satellite info analysed by TankerTrackers.com and internal shipping data from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Guyana's maritime authority said Skipper was falsely flying Guyana's flag, adding that it plans to take action against the unauthorised use of the country's flag.
What did Trump say?
"We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually," he said at the White House on Wednesday.
Without giving additional information on the operation, Mr Trump added that "other things are happening".
Later, Mr Trump said that the tanker was "seized for a very good reason," and when asked what will happen to the oil on board the vessel, he added: "Well, we keep it, I suppose".
He also suggested that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who angered the Trump administration by speaking at a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the UN in September, could "be next" if his country doesn't "wise up" on alleged drug trafficking.
What did Venezuela say?
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro did not address the seizure at a rally before a ruling-party-organised demonstration in Caracas, but told supporters that Venezuela is "prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary".
Flanked by senior officials, he said that only the ruling party can "guarantee peace, stability, and the harmonious development of Venezuela, South America and the Caribbean".
In a later statement, the Venezuelan government accused the US of "blatant theft" and described the seizure as "an act of international piracy".
It said it would "defend its sovereignty, natural resources, and national dignity with absolute determination," and said it would denounce the seizure of the tanker before international bodies.
Why is the US targeting Venezuela?
The US accuses Mr Maduro of presiding over a narco-trafficking operation in Venezuela, which he denies.
On 2 September, the White House posted on X that it had conducted a strike against so-called "narcoterrorists" shipping fentanyl to the US, without providing direct evidence of the alleged crime.
At the time, Mr Trump accused Mr Maduro - who he does not recognise as the country's leader - of heading up the notorious organised crime gang Tren de Aragua (also without providing evidence).
The US president claimed the ship his forces targeted was used by the gang to carry drugs.
He also confirmed he had approved CIA operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.
Read more: The US-Venezuela crisis explained
In return, Mr Maduro accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change and of "fabricating a new eternal war" against his country. He denies having any links to the illegal drug trade.
Sky News' chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay pointed out that the fentanyl drug that is causing destruction in America is largely manufactured in Mexico, not Venezuela.
Ramsay reports that the fentanyl is smuggled directly into the US across its southern border.
Venezuela is instead largely a transit country rather than a drug producer - supplying illegal drugs, especially cocaine, which come from countries like Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
The Maduro government sees US actions as a grab for Venezuela's oil reserves, which are among the biggest in the world.
The country produces about one million barrels a day.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen said the oil tanker seizure casts doubt on the Trump administration's stated reasons for the military buildup and boat strikes in the region.
"This shows that their whole cover story - that this is about interdicting drugs - is a big lie," he said. "This is just one more piece of evidence that this is really about regime change - by force."
The crisis is escalating
Sky News' US correspondent David Blevins said the tanker seizure "underscored the White House's preference for visible demonstrations of muscle over diplomacy".
"By targeting an oil shipment, rather than a suspected drug boat, Washington has signalled its willingness to disrupt exports," Blevins said.
"President Trump seems determined to shut down one of the last major sources of funding for Nicolas Maduro's embattled government."
Read more: Raid paints vivid portrait of Trump's approach
The seizure comes after the Trump administration has been ramping up pressure on the Venezuelan president for months with increased military deployments against the Latin American country.
Sky's Data & Forensics unit has verified that in the past four months since strikes began, 23 boats have been targeted in 22 strikes, killing 87 people.
In November, the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier - the largest warship in the world - travelled to the Caribbean in what was interpreted by many at the time as a show of military power.
Days after the warship's arrival, the US government's Federal Aviation Administration warned of a "potentially hazardous situation" when flying over Venezuela.
The warning led to three international airlines cancelling flights departing from Venezuela and, later, Mr Maduro revoked operating rights for six major airlines.
Read more: Is this what the beginning of a war looks like?
In further escalation, Mr Trump said on 30 November that the airspace "above and surrounding" the country should be considered closed "in its entirety".
Mr Trump also suggested in the past that American forces could launch a land attack on Venezuela.
Speaking to Politico on Tuesday, Mr Trump declined to comment on whether US troops would enter Venezuela, but said that Mr Maduro's "days are numbered".
Their dawn operation painted a vivid portrait of the Trump administration's approach to the Maduro government.
Officials framed it as the execution of a warrant on a vessel they linked to sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
But the imagery of armed troops seizing control of the bridge was anything but routine.
Instead, it underscored the White House's preference for visible demonstrations of muscle over diplomacy.
From Iran to North Korea, Trump has relied heavily on sanctions and show-of-strength tactics.
Venezuela, long mired in economic collapse and political turmoil, is a prime target for that strategy.
Critics argue that such high stakes on the high seas risk escalating tensions without offering a path to political transition in Caracas.
By targeting an oil shipment, rather than another suspected drug boat, Washington has signalled its willingness to disrupt exports.
Trump seems determined to shut down the main source of funding for Nicolas Maduro's embattled government.
Nine months ago, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all goods imported into the US from any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela.
This is more aggressive and will be viewed in Caracas as a direct threat to the country's economy and sovereignty.
Read more: Is this what the beginning of a war looks like?
The interception of the tanker raises more questions about international maritime law and the reach of US enforcement powers.
In the space of four months, the US has bombed 23 boats, killing 87 people, accusing the occupants of being "narcoterrorists".
This will fuel speculation that airstrikes could be imminent, Trump having posted two weeks ago, that he had closed the airspace.
He's one of up to 400,000 visa overstayers in the UK, one lawyer we spoke to believes.
It's only an estimate because the Home Office has stopped collecting figures - which were unreliable in the first place.
Britain is being laughed at, one man told us, "because they know it's a soft country".
We meet Ramesh (not his real name) at a Gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, where he goes for food and support.
He insists he can't return to India where he claims he was involved in political activism.
Ramesh says he came to the UK on a student visa in 2023, but it was cancelled when he failed to continue his studies after being involved in a serious accident.
He tells us he is doing cash-in-hand work for people who he knows through the community where he is living and is currently working on a house extension where he gets paid as little as £50 for nine hours labouring.
"It's very difficult for me to live in the UK without my Indian or Pakistani community - also because there are a lot of Pakistani people who give me work in their houses for cleaning and for household things," he adds.
'What will become of people like us?'
Anike has lived in limbo for 12 years.
Now living in Greater Manchester, she came to the UK from Nigeria when her sister Esther was diagnosed with a brain tumour - she had a multi-entry visa but was supposed to leave after three months.
Esther had serious complications from brain surgery and says she is reliant on her sister for care.
Immigration officials are in touch with her because she has to digitally sign in every month.
Anike has had seven failed applications for leave to remain on compassionate grounds refused but is now desperate to have her status settled - afraid of the shifting public mood over migration.
"Everybody is thinking 'what will become of people like us?'" she adds.
'It's a shambles'
The government can't say with any degree of accuracy how many visa overstayers there are in Britain - no data has been collated for five-and-a-half years.
But piecing together multiple accounts from community leaders and lawyers the picture we've built is stark.
Immigration lawyer Harjap Singh Bhangal told us he believed there could be several hundred thousand visa overstayers currently in Britain.
He says: "At this time, there's definitely in excess of about 200,000 people overstaying in the UK. It might even be closer to 300,000, it could even be 400,000."
Asked what evidence he has for this he replies: "Every day I see at least one overstayer, any immigration lawyers like me see overstayers and that is the bulk of the work for immigration lawyers.
"The Home Office doesn't have any accurate data because we don't have exit controls. It's a shambles. It's an institution where every wall in the building is cracked."
The number of those who are overstaying visas and working cash in hand is also virtually impossible to measure.
'They know Britain is a soft country'
"They're laughing at us because they know Britain is a soft country, where you won't be picked up easily," says the local man we've arranged to meet as part of our investigation.
We're in Kingsbury in northwest London - an area which people say has been transformed over the past five years as post-Brexit visa opportunities opened up for people coming from South Asia.
'Mini-Mumbai'
The man we're talking to lives in the community and helps with events here. He doesn't want to be identified but raises serious questions about visa abuse.
"Since the last five years, a huge amount of people have come in this country on this visiting visa, and they come with one thing in mind - to overstay and work in cash," he says.
"This area is easy to live in because they know they can survive. It looks like as if you are walking through mini-Mumbai."
'It's taxpayers who are paying'
And he claims economic migrants are regularly arriving - who've paid strangers to pretend they're a friend or relative in order to obtain a visitor visa to get to Britain.
He says: "I've come across so many people who have come this way into this country. It's widespread. When I talk to these people, they literally tell me, 'Oh, someone is coming tomorrow, day after tomorrow, someone is coming'.
"Because they're hidden they may not be claiming benefits, but they can access emergency healthcare and their children can go to school.
"And who is paying for it? It's the taxpayers who are paying for all this," says the man we've met in north London.
Read more from Sky News:
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A Home Office spokesperson said: "We will not tolerate any abuse of our immigration system and anyone found to be breaking the rules will be liable to have enforcement action taken against them.
"In the first year of this government, we have returned 35,000 people with no right to be here - a 13% rise compared to the previous year.
"Arrests and raids for illegal working have soared to their highest levels since records began, up 63% and 51%."
Maria Corina Machado made her return to the public eye in the early hours of this morning from the balcony of the Norwegian capital's Grand Hotel.
She didn't make it to Oslo in time to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person, after an extraordinary day shrouded in uncertainty over her whereabouts.
It was accepted on her behalf by her daughter Ana Corina Sosa.
An unprecedented journey fraught with risk
Machado isn't the first Nobel Laureate unable to attend, but her journey was unprecedented in the history of the prestigious prize.
Her departure from Venezuela, carried out amid heavy secrecy and probably with covert US help, was fraught with risk, but on Wednesday she was en route to Norway.
Reports suggested she first travelled by boat to the Caribbean island of Curacao before getting a private flight via the US. Two US F-16 jets were tracked in the skies close to Curacao late Tuesday night.
In a phone call with members of the Nobel Institute, released just after she took off, Machado said she was "very sad" not to make it in person but "as soon as I arrive, I will be able to embrace all my family and children".
In her absence, her daughter, whom she hasn't seen for almost two years, collected the award in Oslo City Hall and delivered the speech her mother wrote.
'Democracy is essential to peace'
She spoke about 2,500 people "kidnapped, disappeared or tortured" under Nicolas Maduro's government - and slammed the corruption that has brought Venezuela, once one of the world's richest nations, to its knees.
"This prize carries profound meaning; it reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace," she said.
"More than anything, what we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey - that to have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom."
To a standing ovation from an audience that included several South American leaders, Machado thanked the people of Norway and sent a message to her fellow countrymen and women, many of whom had travelled to Oslo from their homes outside Venezuela.
"Venezuela will breathe again," her daughter read. "We will open prison doors and watch thousands who were unjustly detained step into the warm sun, embraced at last by those who never stopped fighting for them.
"We will see our grandmothers settle children on their laps to tell them stories not of distant forefathers but of their own parents' courage.
"We will hug again. Fall in love again. Hear our streets fill with laughter and music. All the simple joys the world takes for granted will be ours."
How did it come to this?
Machado is the leader of a grassroots political movement fighting for democracy in Venezuela.
She was banned by Maduro from running for election, so she rallied a campaign behind a little-known veteran diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.
She organised and trained more than a million volunteers to monitor elections in 2024 and collect data.
Those results, smuggled out of the country, were verified by independent experts and confirmed a landslide win for Gonzalez and Machado's party.
Maduro refused to recognise the result and detained thousands of opponents.
Protests have failed to dislodge him, although US President Donald Trump has stationed a massive naval force off the coast and has warned the Venezuelan leader his "days are numbered".
More on US-Venezuela crisis:
US seizes Venezuelan oil tanker
Is this how a war starts?
Maduro ready for land strikes
There and back again
Mr Trump had lobbied publicly to win this year's Nobel Prize himself, but rang Machado to congratulate her. Some members of Trump's administration had threatened the Nobel Committee if he didn't win.
Edmundo Gonzalez, who was at the ceremony in Oslo, has since gone into exile in Spain, but Machado has remained in Venezuela, spending most of her time in hiding.
Her mother, sister, and children have also travelled to Oslo to be reunited with her.
The decision to travel to Norway is fraught with risk.
Having successfully left the country, she faces a dangerous journey home again.