US seizes two more Venezuelan oil tankers as Trump moves to control global sales

The dual seizures and sanctions announcement represent the Trump administration’s most concrete steps yet to translate its military capture of President Nicolás Maduro into economic control of Venezuela, whose oil reserves are the largest in the world. Vice President JD Vance said the United States can dictate where Venezuela’s oil is sold, giving Washington leverage without committing military force on an ongoing basis.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday seized two more sanctioned oil tankers carrying Venezuelan petroleum and announced plans to selectively lift sanctions to oversee the global sale of Venezuela’s oil — moves that administration officials said would give the United States control over the proceeds from the world’s largest proven crude reserves.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said U.S. forces took control of the M Sophia in the Caribbean Sea, while U.S. European Command said the merchant vessel Bella 1 was seized in the North Atlantic for “violations of U.S. sanctions.” Both ships join at least two others — the Skipper and the Centuries — seized by U.S. forces last month.

The seizures and the sanctions announcement are the Trump administration’s most concrete steps yet to translate its military capture of President Nicolás Maduro into economic control over Venezuela’s petroleum industry following a surprise nighttime raid last week.

Vance: US controls Venezuela’s ‘purse strings’

Vice President JD Vance, in an interview set to air on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” said the United States can dictate where Venezuela sells its oil, giving Washington leverage over the country’s government without ongoing military commitment.

“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,” Vance said. “And that’s how we exert incredible pressure on that country without wasting a single American life.”

The Energy Department said the “only oil transported in and out of Venezuela” will be through approved channels consistent with U.S. law and national security interests. Venezuelan oil production runs at roughly 1 million barrels a day.

Initial sales of Venezuelan oil to world markets are set to begin immediately, covering 30 million to 50 million barrels in the first phase, with proceeds settling in U.S.-controlled accounts at “globally recognized banks” and disbursed at the “discretion” of Trump’s government, according to the Energy Department outline.

Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA said it is in negotiations with the U.S. government for the sale of crude oil, calling the arrangement “a strictly commercial transaction, with criteria of legality, transparency and benefit for both parties.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela’s interim authorities want the oil seized from the captured tankers incorporated into a deal announced by Trump on Tuesday, under which Venezuela would provide up to 50 million barrels to the United States.

“They understand that the only way they can move oil and generate revenue and not have economic collapse is if they cooperate and work with the United States,” Rubio told reporters after briefing lawmakers about the Maduro operation.

The Bella 1 chase

The Bella 1 had been cruising toward the Caribbean on Dec. 15 when it abruptly reversed course and headed north toward Europe, days after the first U.S. tanker seizure on Dec. 10. When a U.S. Coast Guard vessel attempted to board it, the ship fled.

As U.S. forces pursued it, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, according to shipping databases. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said the ship’s crew had painted a Russian flag on the side of the hull.

The ship had been sanctioned by the United States in 2024 on allegations of smuggling cargo for a company linked to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran. U.S. European Command said a Coast Guard vessel tracked the ship “pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti, demanded that “the American side ensure humane and dignified treatment” of Russian nationals among the crew. Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas called the U.S. action “blatant piracy.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department is investigating crew members for failing to obey Coast Guard orders and that “criminal charges will be pursued against all culpable actors.”

The U.K. Defense Ministry said British forces provided support, including surveillance aircraft, for the capture. Defense Secretary John Healey said the ship “is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fueling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.”

The M Sophia

The M Sophia had been “running dark” — not transmitting location data since July — when it was captured in the Caribbean. The ship was on the U.S. sanctions list for moving illicit cargos of oil from Russia. Tankers involved in such operations often disable their transponders or broadcast inaccurate location data to hide their whereabouts.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward said the M Sophia loaded at Jose Terminal, Venezuela’s main oil export hub, on Dec. 26 and was carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil — a cargo worth about $108 million at roughly $60 a barrel.

Samir Madani, co-founder of maritime tracking service TankerTrackers.com, said his organization documented at least 16 tankers leaving the Venezuelan coast since Saturday, after U.S. forces captured Maduro.

Noem said both seized ships were part of a shadow fleet of tankers that smuggle oil for countries facing sanctions, including Venezuela, Russia, and Iran.

Venezuela’s response

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez sought to normalize the new arrangement Wednesday night, calling U.S.-Venezuela economic relations “neither extraordinary nor irregular.”

“Venezuela must diversify its relations and have relations with all the countries of this hemisphere, just as it should with Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe,” Rodríguez said during a televised meeting with lawmakers and senior government officials.

The Trump administration has also indicated it will invest in Venezuela’s electricity grid to support oil production and improve conditions for the country’s population, whose economy has been deteriorating amid cuts to foreign aid and state subsidies that have made food and other necessities unaffordable for millions.