US seizes oil tanker off Venezuelan coast
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.2 • 7.8K Ratings
🗓️ 11 December 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid escalating tensions. President Trump said it was done for "very good reason" but Caracas accused Washington of "blatant theft" and "international piracy". Also: María Corina Machado arrives in Norway for her Nobel Peace Prize; the latest on Ukraine peace talks; we hear from Palestinians as severe storms hit Gaza; scientists shed light on the discovery of fire; Nicolas Sarkozy's new book on his experience in prison; Italian cuisine gets the UNESCO stamp of approval; film critics are panned in the digital age; and would you hand over your social media history for a trip to the US?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.5 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:10.8 | I'm Chris Barrow, and in the early hours of the 11th of December, these are our main stories. |
| 0:16.2 | Venezuela has accused the United States of blatant theft and piracy after US troops seized an oil |
| 0:21.8 | tanker off the country's coast. Meanwhile, Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Carina Machado |
| 0:26.7 | has appeared publicly for the first time in 11 months after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 0:34.7 | Also in this podcast, tourists could be asked to provide five years' worth of their social media history to enter America. |
| 0:41.5 | There is an underlying intention to monitor and restrict travelers to the US that are not aligned with the ideology of the current administration. |
| 0:51.6 | And researchers in Britain make a significant discovery. |
| 0:54.8 | This is huge because it transforms what we think about early Neanderthals and their abilities |
| 1:00.2 | to create fire. |
| 1:06.4 | For months, the Trump administration has been pressurizing Venezuela's president, accusing |
| 1:11.1 | Nicolas Maduro of being complicit in the drugs trade and blaming him for the large number |
| 1:15.6 | of Venezuelan migrants entering the US. Warships have been moved to within striking distance |
| 1:20.8 | of the mainland and several strikes have destroyed boats that are alleged to have been transporting |
| 1:25.5 | drugs. Now, in the latest escalation, Donald Trump |
| 1:28.5 | made this announcement. We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, |
| 1:36.4 | very large. Largest one ever seized, actually. It was seized for a very good reason. |
| 1:42.7 | The White House then released a 45-second video showing military helicopters approaching the tanker, |
| 1:48.0 | then troops descend from ropes and board the vessel. |
| 1:51.1 | The ship is accused of transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. |
| 1:55.8 | Our Washington correspondent Nomya Iqbal told us more. |
... |
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