US seeks to assert its control over Venezuelan oil with tanker seizures
and sales worldwide
[January 08, 2026]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, JOSH BOAK, JILL LAWLESS and MICHAEL
BIESECKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday
sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of
sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax
some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum
worldwide.
Trump's administration intends to control the distribution of
Venezuela’s oil products globally following its ouster of President
Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid. Besides the United States
enforcing an existing oil embargo, the Energy Department says the “only
oil transported in and out of Venezuela” will be through approved
channels consistent with U.S. law and national security interests.
That level of control over the world’s largest proven reserves of crude
oil could give the Trump administration a broader hold on oil supplies
globally in ways that could enable it to influence prices. Both moves
reflect the Republican administration’s determination to make good on
its effort to control the next steps in Venezuela through its vast oil
resources after Trump pledged the U.S. will “run” the country.
Vice President JD Vance said in an interview the U.S. can “control”
Venezuela’s “purse strings” by dictating where its oil can be sold.
“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 in an interview to air on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters
Primetime.”
The vice president added, “And that’s how we exert incredible pressure
on that country without wasting a single American life."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the oil taken from the
sanctioned vessels seized in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea
would 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
U.S.
Venezuela’s interim authorities “want that oil that was seized to be
part of this deal,” Rubio told reporters after briefing lawmakers
Wednesday about the Maduro operation. “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.”
Seizing 2 more vessels
U.S. European Command said on social media that the merchant vessel
Bella 1 was seized in the North Atlantic for “violations of U.S.
sanctions." 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 revealed 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."
The two ships join at least two others that were taken by U.S. forces
last month — the Skipper and the Centuries.
The Bella 1 had been cruising across the Atlantic nearing the Caribbean
on Dec. 15 when it abruptly turned and headed north, toward Europe. The
change in direction came days after the first U.S. tanker seizure of a
ship on Dec. 10 after it had left Venezuela carrying oil.
When the U.S. Coast Guard tried to board the Bella 1, it fled. U.S.
European Command said a Coast Guard vessel had tracked the ship
“pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court."
As the U.S. pursued it, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to
Russia, shipping databases show. A U.S. official, who spoke on the
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 Russian Foreign Ministry said it had information about Russian
nationals among the Marinera's crew and, in a statement carried by
Russia’s state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti, demanded that "the
American side ensure humane and dignified treatment of them, strictly
respect their rights and interests, and not hinder their speedy return
to their homeland.”
Separately, a senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Klishas, decried the U.S.
action as “blatant piracy.”
The Justice Department is investigating crew members of the Bella 1
vessel for failing to obey Coast Guard orders and “criminal charges will
be pursued against all culpable actors,” Attorney General Pam Bondi
said.
“The Department of Justice is monitoring several other vessels for
similar enforcement action — anyone on any vessel 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,” Bondi
said on X.
The ship had been sanctioned by the U.S. in 2024 on allegations of
smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
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This image from video provided by the U.S. Department of Defense,
shows the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro shadowing the MV Bella 1 in
the North Atlantic Ocean during the maritime interdiction operation
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Department of Defense via AP)
Easing some sanctions to sell Venezuela's oil
The Trump administration, meanwhile, is “selectively” removing
sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to
markets worldwide, according to an outline of the policies published
Wednesday by the Energy Department.
The sales are slated to begin immediately with 30 million to 50
million barrels of oil. The U.S. government said the sales “will
continue indefinitely,” with the proceeds settling in
U.S.-controlled accounts at “globally recognized banks.” The money
would be disbursed to the U.S. and Venezuelan populations at the
“discretion” of Trump’s government.
Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA said it is in negotiations
with the U.S. government for the sale of crude oil.
“This process is developed under schemes similar to those in force
with international companies, such as Chevron, and is based on a
strictly commercial transaction, with criteria of legality,
transparency and benefit for both parties,” the company said in the
statement.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Wednesday night tried to
normalize the latest chapter in U.S.-Venezuela economic relations,
calling them “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,” she said during a televised
meeting with lawmakers and senior government officials.
The U.S. plans to authorize the importation of oil field equipment,
parts and services to increase Venezuela’s oil production, which has
been roughly 1 million barrels a day.
The Trump administration has indicated it also will invest in the
electricity grid to increase production and the quality of life for
people in Venezuela, whose economy has been unraveling amid changes
to foreign aid and cuts to state subsidies, making necessities,
including food, unaffordable to millions.
Meanwhile, Trump abruptly changed his tone about Colombian President
Gustavo Petro. Trump said Wednesday that they had exchanged a
friendly phone call and he had invited the leader of the South
American country to the White House. Trump had said earlier this
week that “Colombia is very sick too” and accused Petro of ”making
cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
Ships said to be part of a shadow fleet
Noem said both seized ships were part of a shadow fleet of rusting
oil tankers that smuggle oil for countries facing sanctions, such as
Venezuela, Russia and Iran.
After the seizure of the now-named Marinera, which open-source
maritime tracking sites showed was between Scotland and Iceland
earlier Wednesday, the U.K. defense ministry said Britain’s military
provided support, including surveillance aircraft.
“This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian
axis of sanctions evasion which is fueling terrorism, conflict, and
misery from the Middle East to Ukraine,” U.K. Defense Secretary John
Healey said.
The capture of the M Sophia, on the U.S. sanctions list for moving
illicit cargos of oil from Russia, in the Caribbean was much less
prolonged.
The ship had been “running dark,” not having transmitted location
data since July. Tankers 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 imagery and surface-level photos to
document that at least 16 tankers had left the Venezuelan coast
since Saturday, after the U.S. captured Maduro.
The M Sophia was among them, Madani said, citing a recent photo
showing it in the waters near Jose Terminal, Venezuela’s main oil
export hub.
Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks such vessels,
said in a briefing to reporters the M Sophia loaded at the terminal
on Dec. 26 and was carrying about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil —
a cargo that would be worth about $108 million at current price of
about $60 a barrel.
___
Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Regina Garcia
Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
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