President Donald Trump’s administration said it moved to assert control over Venezuelan oil by seizing two sanctioned tankers and laying out plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum worldwide.
The administration said the approach is tied to its actions in Venezuela, including a surprise nighttime raid that ousted Nicolás Maduro. U.S. officials said, beyond enforcing an existing oil embargo, the Energy Department’s policy would restrict exports and imports to “approved channels” consistent with U.S. law and national security interests.
Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime” that the U.S. can “control” Venezuela’s “purse strings” by dictating where the oil can be sold. Vance added: “We control the energy resources, and we tell the regime, you’re allowed to sell the oil so long as you serve America’s national interest,” and said the administration could apply “incredible pressure” without “wasting a single American life.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the oil taken from the seized sanctioned vessels would be sold as part of a Tuesday deal under which Venezuela would provide up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. Rubio told reporters after briefing lawmakers that Venezuela’s interim authorities “want that oil that was seized to be part of this deal,” saying they understood the only way to move oil and generate revenue without economic collapse was to cooperate with the United States.
The enforcement actions announced Wednesday included the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 in the North Atlantic. U.S. European Command said on social media that Bella 1 was seized for “violations of U.S. sanctions,” and said the U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said U.S. forces also took control of the M Sophia in the Caribbean Sea. Noem said on social media that both ships were “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.” She said the two vessels joined at least two other tankers seized by U.S. forces last month: the Skipper and the Centuries.
The AP reported that Bella 1 had been cruising across the Atlantic near the Caribbean on Dec. 15 when it abruptly turned north toward Europe. The change in direction came days after a Dec. 10 tanker seizure following its departure from Venezuela carrying oil, and after the Coast Guard attempted to board Bella 1 and the vessel fled. U.S. European Command said a Coast Guard vessel tracked the ship “pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court.”
The report said the vessel was later renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia in shipping databases. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said the crew had painted a Russian flag on the hull. Russia’s Foreign Ministry demanded that the American side ensure “humane and dignified treatment” of Russian nationals among the Marinera’s crew and not hinder their return to their homeland, according to a statement carried by Tass and RIA Novosti. A senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Klishas, called the U.S. action “blatant piracy.”
U.S. Justice Department action was also described Wednesday. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the department is investigating Bella 1 crew members for failing to obey Coast Guard orders and that “criminal charges will be pursued against all culpable actors.” Bondi said the department is monitoring several other vessels for similar enforcement action and that anyone who fails to obey instructions of the Coast Guard or other federal officials will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The AP said the Bella 1 was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2024 on allegations of smuggling cargo for a company linked to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran. The report also described the Justice Department’s posture as tied to broader sanctions enforcement while the U.S. simultaneously moved to carve out authorization for certain Venezuelan oil flows.
Alongside the seizure announcements, the Energy Department described a sanctions relaxation intended to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to markets worldwide. The report said the Trump administration is “selectively” removing sanctions to enable those sales, with shipments beginning immediately at 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil. The U.S. government said the sales “will continue indefinitely,” and that proceeds would settle in U.S.-controlled accounts at “globally recognized banks,” before being disbursed to the U.S. and Venezuelan populations at the “discretion” of Trump’s government.
PDVSA said it was in negotiations with the U.S. government for the sale of crude oil and described the process as similar to arrangements involving international companies such as Chevron, saying it would be a strictly commercial transaction based on “legality, transparency and benefit for both parties.” Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, speaking on Venezuelan television, said the economic relations with the U.S. were “neither extraordinary nor irregular” and that Venezuela must “diversify its relations,” including by having ties with countries across the hemisphere and beyond.
The U.S. plan described Wednesday also included authorizing imports of oil field equipment, parts and services to increase production in Venezuela, which the AP said has been roughly 1 million barrels a day. Noem also said both seized ships were part of a “shadow fleet” of rusting oil tankers that smuggle oil for countries facing sanctions, including Venezuela, Russia and Iran. The AP reported that the U.K. defense ministry said Britain’s military provided support, including surveillance aircraft, after the Bella 1 seizure, and that Defense Secretary John Healey said the ship was part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion.
The AP further reported that the M Sophia had been “running dark” and not transmitting location data since July. Windward said the ship loaded at Jose Terminal on Dec. 26 and was carrying about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil, which it valued at about $108 million at an assumed price of about $60 a barrel. Samir Madani of TankerTrackers.com said satellite imagery and surface-level photos showed at least 16 tankers had left the Venezuelan coast since Saturday after the U.S. captured Maduro, and Madani cited a photo showing the M Sophia near Jose Terminal.
Lawless reported from London, and Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas contributed to the report.
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