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".

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, another man told us, "because they know it's a soft country".

Read more: Why the UK doesn't have data on visa overstayers

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 Anike because she has to digitally sign in every month.

She 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%."

The items were taken from Bristol Museum's British Empire and Commonwealth collection on 25 September, Avon and Somerset Police said.

The force described the burglary as involving "high-value" artefacts, as they appealed for the public's help in identifying people caught on CCTV.

It is not clear why the appeal is being issued more than two months after the burglary occurred.

The break-in took place between 1am and 2am on Thursday 25 September when a group of four unknown males gained entry to a building in the Cumberland Road area of the city.

Detectives say they hope the four people on CCTV will be able to aid them with their enquiries.

DEscriptions of the four men were released as follows:

They are described as:

• Male one: white, of medium to stocky build, wearing a white cap, black jacket, light-coloured trousers, and black trainers
• Male two: white, of slim build, wearing a grey-hooded jacket, black trousers, and black trainers
• Male three: white, wearing a green cap, black jacket, light-coloured shorts, and white trainers. He appears to walk with a slight limp in his right leg.
• Male four: white, of large build, wearing a two-toned orange and navy/black puffed jacket, black trousers, and black and white trainers.

The officer leading the investigation, Detective Constable Dan Burgan, said: "The theft of many items which carry a significant cultural value is a significant loss for the city.

"These items, many of which were donations, form part of a collection that provides insight into a multi-layered part of British history, and we are hoping that members of the public can help us to bring those responsible to justice.

"So far, our enquiries have included significant CCTV enquiries as well as forensic investigations and speaking liaising with the victims.

"If you recognise the men pictured or have seen any of the possible items being sold online, please call us."

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A spokesman said there are "no specific talks" taking place, after Javier Milei told The Daily Telegraph negotiations with Britain were under way to lift weapons export restrictions.

The government's policy since the Falklands War more than 40 years ago has been weapons with British parts are not allowed to be exported to Argentina if they are judged to "enhance Argentine military capability".

"There are no world powers without military power," Mr Milei told the newspaper, adding: "There is no country that counts in the international context if they can't defend their borders."

He also said he wanted to see the Falklands handed to Argentina via diplomatic means after previously saying he would not relinquish the claim to sovereignty over the islands, but wouldn't seek conflict with the UK.

A government spokesman rebutted this, too, saying: "Sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not up for negotiation, and we will defend its right to self-determination.

"In 2013, the islanders held a referendum on their future, with an overwhelming majority choosing to remain part of the UK."

But he added: "More broadly, we look forward to deepening our co-operation with Argentina across areas including trade, science, and culture to deliver growth for the British people."

Milei wants Starmer meeting

Mr Milei said he plans to come to Britain in April or May next year and would like to meet with Sir Keir Starmer and Reform's Nigel Farage.

Argentina's cost-cutting agenda has gone down well with Mr Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, and helped inspire the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk.

If he makes the trip, it would make him the first Argentinian president to visit the UK since 1998.

Read more from Sky News:
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Mr Milei's comments come after Falkland Islanders told Sky News in March that the threat posed by Argentina "has not changed".

Since the end of the conflict, there has been a UK military presence on the islands as a deterrent to Argentina not to exercise its continued claim over the Falklands.

A 2,000-strong garrison of troops and a squadron of fighter jets and transport aircraft based around the main airport at Mount Pleasant.

But Leona Roberts, a member of the Falkland Islands legislative assembly, said: "Argentina is always a bit of a shadow over our shoulder."

Three Thai civilians were killed as heavy fighting continued along the border, the Thai military said on Thursday.

Nine Thai soldiers have so far been killed in the conflict, and more than 120 have been wounded.

Cambodia said nine civilians have been killed, including a baby, and 46 others have been wounded.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from border areas in both countries.

Clashes at more than a dozen locations along the 508 mile-long (817km) border on Wednesday saw some of the most intense fighting since a five-day battle in July - the worst conflict between the two countries in recent history.

Thailand said a hospital in Surin province was evacuated after rockets landed about 500m away.

It came as both sides waited for a telephone call from Mr Trump, who says he believes he can again end the fighting between the two Southeast Asian nations.

Mr Trump says he expects to speak with the countries' leaders on Thursday.

Read more from Sky News:
Why did the US seize an oil tanker?
British soldier killed in Ukraine named

In July, Mr Trump stopped the fighting with calls to both leaders in which he threatened to halt trade talks unless they ended the conflict.

"I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?" Mr Trump said on Wednesday in an exchange with reporters.

He also repeated his claim of settling eight wars around the world since his return to the White House.

However, Thailand has reacted more warily to overtures from Mr Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who helped broker the July deal, which resulted in an extended ceasefire signed in October.

Thailand insists the matter is for the two nations to resolve.

The roots of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict lie in a history of enmity over competing territorial claims.

These claims largely stem from a 1907 map created while Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand argues is inaccurate.

Tensions were heightened by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still angers many Thais.

Despite October's deal to stop fighting, the two countries carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued.

Malaysian PM Mr Ibrahim said he had talked to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday and, though no definitive resolution was reached, he appreciated "the openness and willingness of both leaders to continue negotiations in order to ease tensions".

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday he would "explain and clarify" the situation if the US president called.

Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the latest clashes that started this week and have traded accusations that civilians were being targeted in rocket and artillery attacks.

The latest large-scale fighting was sparked by a skirmish on Sunday that wounded two Thai soldiers.

Around two dozen people have been reported killed in the latest fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border.

Cambodia's interior ministry said in a Wednesday evening update that homes, schools, roads, pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by "Thailand's intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30km inside Cambodian territory".

On Thursday, Cambodia's defence ministry accused Thailand of committing "brutal acts of aggression" against civilian targets, including schools and temples. Thailand denies that it targets civilian infrastructure.