British politician Jeremy Corbyn agreed with Venezuela's claim that the seizure of an oil tanker off its coast by U.S. forces constituted an "act of piracy" and it is "wholly illegal within international law."
Speaking at the House of Commons, Corbyn criticized the Labor government's reaction to the incident, saying it was "extremely low key, acquiescent to a declaration by the U.S. that it gives itself the right tot interfere in the internal affairs of any country around the world it thinks it doesn't agree with."
The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Let’s call this out for what it is: an act of piracy. pic.twitter.com/29NCnLfL8r
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 11, 2025
He went on to call the seizure "actually an act of piracy in the Caribbean by seizing an oil tanker and taking it to its custody with no basis in international law."
The Venezuelan regime also claimed the U.S. had committed an act of "international piracy." "The president of the United States confessed to the assault of an oil tanker," reads a passage of a statement issued by the authoritarian government, calling the seizure "a criminal act" and alleging it revealed Washington's true objectives. "It was never about migration, narcotrafficking, democracy, or human rights. It was always about our natural resources, our oil, our energy," the government wrote.
U.S. officials identified the vessel as the Skipper, a Guyana-flagged tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship had been "used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran" and was part of "an illicit network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," citing investigations by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard. Bondi said the operation was carried out "safely and securely" with Pentagon support.
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