Caracas, Venezuela - Venezuela's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the US military's seizure of an oil tanker off its coast, calling the operation "a blatant theft and an act of international piracy."

US troops took control of the vessel in the Caribbean earlier that day. President Donald Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that the tanker had been part of an illegal oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations, but offered no evidence.

Footage posted by Bondi shows a helicopter approaching the tanker before soldiers rappel onto the deck with weapons drawn to secure the ship. No crew members can be seen.

"Under these circumstances, the true reasons behind the ongoing aggression against Venezuela are finally clear," Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said on Instagram. "It is not about migration. It is not about drug trafficking. It is not about democracy. It is not about human rights."

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"It is always about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, our resources that belong exclusively to the people of Venezuela," it added.

President Donald Trump boasted to reporters at the White House that the tanker was "the largest one ever seized." He did not provide further details but suggested that additional developments could follow as "other things are happening."

It initially remained unclear where the vessel had been headed and under which flag it was sailing. According to Bondi, the takeover of the tanker involved the Coast Guard, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, with support from the Pentagon.

The US has carried out multiple airstrikes on boats in waters near Venezuela in recent months, with the Trump administration claiming they target drug-trafficking operations, but offering no proof. The attacks have been classed as illegal and potentially criminal by international organizations and legal experts.

Trump has also deployed a significant military presence off Venezuela and also authorized covert CIA operations, leading to suspicions that toppling Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – as well as taking control of the country's vast oil reserves – is the ultimate goal.