The United States aims to assert its control over Venezuelan oil by seizing tankers and global sales

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday sought to assert control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting the oil and announcing plans to ease some sanctions so the United States can oversee the sale of Venezuelan oil around the world.

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The Trump administration intends to take control of the distribution of Venezuelan oil products globally after ousting President Nicolas Maduro in a surprise overnight raid. In addition to the US imposing an existing oil embargo, the Department of Energy says that “the only oil transported in and out of Venezuela” will be through approved channels consistent with US law and national security interests.

This level of control over the world’s largest proven reserves of crude oil could give the Trump administration broader control over global oil supplies in ways that could enable it to influence prices. Both moves reflect the Republican administration’s determination to make good efforts to control Venezuela’s next steps with its vast oil resources after Trump pledged that the United States would “run” the country.

Vice President J.D. Vance said in an interview that the United States could “control” Venezuela’s “purse strings” by limiting where its oil can be sold.

“We control the energy resources, and we are telling the regime that you are allowed to sell oil as long as you serve the American national interest,” Vance said in an interview broadcast on “Jesse Waters Prime Time” on Fox News Channel.

“And this is how we put incredible pressure on this country without wasting a single American life,” the vice president added.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that oil taken from sanctioned ships and seized in the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea could be sold as part of the deal announced by Trump on Tuesday under which Venezuela would provide up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.

Venezuela’s interim authorities “want the seized oil to be part of this deal,” Rubio told reporters after briefing lawmakers Wednesday on Maduro’s operation. “They realize that the only way they can transport oil, generate revenues and not suffer economic collapse is to cooperate and work with the United States.”

Capture two more ships

The US European Command said on social media that the merchant ship Bella 1 was detained in the North Atlantic for “violating US sanctions.” The United States had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a blockade imposed on sanctioned oil ships around Venezuela.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed that US forces also took control of the ship M Sophia in the Caribbean Sea. Noem said on social media that the two ships “either last docked in Venezuela or are on their way there.”

The two ships join at least two other ships seized by US forces last month, the Skipper and Century.

The Bella 1 plane was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean near the Caribbean on December 15 when it suddenly turned and headed north toward Europe. The change in direction came days after the first US tanker detained a ship on December 10 after it left Venezuela loaded with oil.

When the U.S. Coast Guard tried to board the Bella 1, she fled. US European Command said a Coast Guard ship tracked the ship “pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court.”

While the United States was pursuing it, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show. A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said the ship’s crew painted the Russian flag on the side of the hull.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it had information about Russian citizens among the Marinera crew, and in a statement published by the Russian official news agencies “TASS” and “RIA Novosti” it called on “the American side to ensure humane and dignified treatment for them, strict respect for their rights and interests, and not to obstruct their speedy return to their homeland.”

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Separately, prominent Russian MP Andrei Klishas denounced the US action as “blatant piracy.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department is investigating the Bella 1’s crew members for not complying with Coast Guard orders and “criminal charges will be brought against all guilty parties.”

“The Department of Justice is monitoring several other vessels for similar enforcement actions — anyone aboard any vessel who does not obey the instructions of the Coast Guard or other federal officials will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi said on X.

The United States had imposed sanctions on the ship in 2024 over allegations of smuggling goods for a company linked to the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Easing some sanctions imposed on the sale of Venezuelan oil

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is “selectively” removing sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to markets around the world, according to a policy outline published by the Energy Department on Wednesday.

Sales of 30 to 50 million barrels of oil are scheduled to begin immediately. The US government said the sales would “continue indefinitely”, with proceeds deposited in US-controlled accounts in “globally recognized banks”. The funds will be disbursed to the American and Venezuelan people at the “discretion” of the Trump government.

Read more: Trump: The United States will get 30 to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela at market price

Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA said it is in negotiations with the US government to sell crude oil.

The company said in the statement: “This process was developed under schemes similar to those in place with international companies, such as Chevron, and is based on a purely commercial transaction, with standards of legality, transparency and benefit for both parties.”

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday evening attempted to normalize the latest chapter in economic relations between the United States and Venezuela, calling it “neither unusual nor unusual.”

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

The United States plans to allow the import of oilfield equipment, parts and services to increase Venezuela’s oil production, which amounts to about 1 million barrels per day.

The Trump administration has indicated it will also invest in the power grid to increase production and quality of life for people in Venezuela, whose economy is collapsing amid changes in foreign aid and cuts in government support, putting necessities, including food, out of reach for millions.

Meanwhile, Trump suddenly changed his tune on Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Trump said on Wednesday that they exchanged a friendly phone call and invited the leader of the South American country to the White House. Trump said earlier this week that “Colombia is very sick, too,” and accused Petro of “manufacturing cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

The ships are said to be part of the Shadow Fleet

Noem said the two seized ships were part of a shadow fleet of rusty oil tankers smuggling oil to countries facing sanctions, such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran.

After the seizure of the ship named Marinera, which open source maritime tracking websites showed was between Scotland and Iceland earlier on Wednesday, the British Ministry of Defense said the British military provided support, including surveillance aircraft.

British Defense Secretary John Healey said: “This ship with a shameful history is part of a Russian-Iranian sanctions-evasion axis that fuels terrorism, conflict and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.”

The detention of the M Sophia, which is on the US sanctions list for transporting illicit shipments of oil from Russia, in the Caribbean, took much less time.

The ship has been “going dark” and has not transmitted position data since July. Carriers involved in smuggling often turn off their transponders or broadcast inaccurate data to hide their locations.

Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said his organization used satellite and land surface images to document that at least 16 oil tankers have left the Venezuelan coast since Saturday, after the U.S. seized control of Maduro.

Madani said that the ship M Sofia was among those ships, citing a recent photo showing it in the waters near the Jose terminal, Venezuela’s main oil export center.

The M Sophia loaded at the terminal on December 26 and was carrying about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil — a cargo worth about $108 million at the current price of about $60 a barrel, Windward, a maritime intelligence company that tracks such ships, said in a briefing for reporters.

Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.