The Trump administration moved Wednesday to tighten its grip over Venezuela’s vast oil sector, seizing two sanctioned tankers and unveiling a plan to ease select sanctions in order to place all Venezuelan petroleum sales under US oversight, the Associated Press reported.
The moves come days after the US ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid, with Washington now seeking to control the global distribution of Venezuelan oil.
The Energy Department said the “only oil transported in and out of Venezuela" will be allowed through channels approved under US law and national security interests.
With Venezuela holding the world’s largest proven crude reserves, such control could give Washington significant leverage over global oil supplies and pricing. The administration has repeatedly signaled its intention to direct Venezuela’s next steps through its energy sector, after President Donald Trump pledged the US would “run" the country.
Vice President JD Vance said the US can “control" Venezuela’s “purse strings" by dictating where its oil may 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 on FOX News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime."
“And that’s how we exert incredible pressure on that country without wasting a single American life."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said oil seized from the two tankers - intercepted in the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea - would be incorporated into a new arrangement under which Venezuela will supply up to 50 million barrels of oil to the US.
Venezuela’s interim authorities “want that oil that was seized to be part of this deal," Rubio said, adding that 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."
US European Command confirmed the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 in the North Atlantic for “violations of US sanctions." The tanker had attempted to evade a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said US forces also seized the M Sophia in the Caribbean, noting both ships were “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it."
The Bella 1 had been sanctioned in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
The second vessel seized, the M Sophia, was sanctioned for transporting illicit Russian oil and had been “running dark" since July, according to AP. Satellite imagery reviewed by TankerTrackers.com showed at least 16 tankers leaving Venezuela after Maduro’s capture, including the M Sophia, which loaded crude at Jose Terminal on Dec. 26.
The seizure came hours after Trump said that Venezuela’s interim government will be “turning over" billions of dollars’ worth of sanctioned crude oil to the United States.
Trump said the US plans to sell between 30 and 50 million barrels of the crude at market prices. In a Truth Social post, he added that he would personally control the proceeds to ensure they “benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."
He said he has directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to arrange the plan “immediately," and that the sanctioned oil would be “brought directly to unloading docks in the United States."