A lot of people are reacting emotionally to the idea of oil tankers being seized, but most of the outrage comes from not understanding what is actually being discussed.
So let's slow this down and explain it clearly, legally, and step by step.
This is not war.
This is not piracy.
This is judgment enforcement " the same principle used every day when courts seize bank accounts, property, aircraft, or cargo from someone who lost in court and refuses to pay.
1. What Venezuela did (the part that always gets skipped)
In the 2000s, under Hugo Chvez, Venezuela seized oil projects owned by foreign companies, including major U.S. firms such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.
This wasn't a policy disagreement.
It was expropriation:
Contracts were broken
Assets were taken
Compensation that had been agreed to was not paid
That is not controversial. It is historical fact.
2. What the courts decided
Those U.S. companies didn't complain on social media.
They went to international arbitration and U.S. courts " the proper legal venues.
They won.
The rulings were:
Final
Binding
Enforceable
Venezuela lost and was ordered to pay tens of billions of dollars in damages.
3. The real problem: Venezuela refused to pay
Here is the key point most critics ignore:
Venezuela refused to comply with the court judgments.
In any legal system " domestic or international " when a party:
Loses in court
Owes a judgment
Refuses to pay
... the law allows creditors to seize commercial assets belonging to the debtor outside its borders to satisfy the judgment.
This is called judgment enforcement.
Countries do not get a free pass simply because they are countries.
4. Why oil tankers even enter the conversation
Venezuela's primary commercial asset is oil.
Oil moves on oil tankers.
Those tankers:
Carry state-owned Venezuelan oil
Are commercial property, not military or diplomatic assets
Can be lawfully seized by court order in cooperating jurisdictions
This is no different in principle from seizing:
A bank account
A plane
A shipment of goods
Calling this "piracy" is legally incorrect.
Piracy is theft without lawful authority.
This is court-ordered seizure to collect a debt already ruled on.
5. The math everyone avoids
Let's use conservative, realistic numbers so no one can claim exaggeration.
Estimated unpaid court judgments: ~$35 billion
Oil price used: $62 per barrel
Typical large oil tanker (VLCC): ~2 million barrels
Value of one full tanker:
Gross value: ~$124 million
Net value after realistic court-sale discounts: ~$115 million
Now do the math:
$35,000,000,000 $115,000,000 300 tankers
That's where the number comes from.
Not one tanker.
Not ten.
About three hundred.
One tanker only covers about one-third of one percent of what Venezuela owes.
Zelensky should get the Nobel Peace Prize for his relentless efforts to end the war.