The US has slapped fresh sanctions on six ships carrying Venezuelan oil, a day after seizing the tanker Skipper off Venezuela’s coast. The White House calls the ship involved in "illicit oil shipping" and plans to bring it to a US port. Some relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and related businesses are also sanctioned. Maduro called the seizure "international piracy." The US aims to stop illegal drugs and enforce sanctions. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "We're not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism." US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the sanctions target Maduro’s "dictatorial and brutal control," holding his regime and cronies accountable. Video shows camouflaged US soldiers boarding the Skipper by helicopter during the raid. Venezuela condemned the seizure strongly, with Maduro accusing the US of "kidnapping the crew" and "stealing" the ship. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates." The US had increased its military presence near Venezuela before the raid, including the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier. The Skipper was already sanctioned in 2022 for alleged oil smuggling linked to Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force. This marks a major step in the US’s tough pressure on Maduro’s regime amid claims of drug trafficking and resource theft.