The United States on Wednesday sought to seize a Russian-flagged Venezuela-linked tanker as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to control the flow of oil in America’s backyard and force the socialist government in Caracas onto the ally.
After ousting Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Washington has blocked sanctioned ships entering and leaving waters near the South American OPEC member state. The U.S. Coast Guard and military were attempting to seize a tanker flying Russian flags after refusing to board the vessel last month, two officials said.
The move, which came after a two-week pursuit in the Atlantic Ocean with Russian submarines and ships in the vicinity, risks further conflict with the Russian government, which condemns U.S. actions over Venezuela and is already at odds with the West over the war in Ukraine.
Russian state broadcaster RT aired images of a helicopter hovering near Marinella and said it resembled a US helicopter. U.S. forces were attempting to board an empty U.S.-licensed tanker.
The U.S. Coast Guard also seized a fully loaded Venezuelan-related tanker near South America’s northeast coast, the fourth such seizure in recent weeks, officials said.
China accuses US of ‘bullying’
The Trump administration was also pressing for a deal with Venezuela to import up to $2 billion worth of oil, bypassing supplies from Beijing.
He has spoken openly about working with U.S. oil companies to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves after the ouster of President Maduro, who he installed as a drug-trafficking dictator in collusion with Washington’s enemies.
President Maduro’s allies, the Socialist Party, remain in power in Venezuela, and interim President Delcy Rodríguez, under explicit threats from President Trump, is walking a fine line between denouncing Maduro’s “kidnappings” and beginning cooperation with the United States.
He said up to 50 million barrels of oil held up in Venezuela under the U.S. blockade would be refined and sold, a first step in a plan to revive the sector, which has long been in decline despite having the world’s largest reserves.
“This oil will be sold at market price and managed by me, the President of the United States, to ensure that the funds are used for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States,” Trump posted on Tuesday.
State oil company PDVSA told Reuters that negotiations on an export deal were making progress, but the Venezuelan government has not made any official announcement.
Decline in Crude Oil Prices Crude oil prices fell by approximately 1.0% in global markets due to expected increases in supply.
The deal could initially require rerouting cargo bound for China, Venezuela’s biggest buyer, as Caracas seeks to unload millions of barrels stuck in tankers and warehouses.
“The United States’ brazen use of force against Venezuela and its demand for ‘America First’ in disposing of its oil resources are typical acts of bullying,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference.
China, Russia and Venezuela’s leftist allies have all condemned the US raid to capture Maduro. This is the largest US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama to overthrow Manuel Noriega.
U.S. allies are also deeply concerned by President Trump’s unusual precedent for seizing foreign heads of state, having repeatedly threatened to take further action to advance U.S. interests from Mexico to Greenland.
Dozens died during Maduro capture
How U.S. special forces were able to swoop into Caracas in helicopters in the dark on Saturday, breach President Maduro’s cordon and arrest him at the entrance to a security room, with no loss of U.S. military life, remains sketchy.
Venezuela has not confirmed total losses, but the military released a list of 23 dead, and ally Cuba said 32 military and intelligence personnel were killed.
Maduro, 63, who has ruled Venezuela since the death of his predecessor and leader Hugo Chávez in 2013, pleaded not guilty to drug charges in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday, wearing shackles around his ankles and wearing an orange and beige prison uniform.
President Trump appears to have calculated that stability in Venezuela is best served by working with Maduro’s senior allies for now. He has stressed that his priority is to revive the oil sector with the support of American companies, rather than the release of political prisoners or a new vote for a democratic transition.
Venezuelan opposition kept waiting
María Colina Machado, a leading figure in Venezuela’s anti-Maduro faction who left the country in disguise to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in October, wants to return home where anti-Maduro factions say they can easily win free votes.
But she is also careful not to antagonize Trump, saying she would like to personally present him with the Nobel Prize he coveted and dedicated to him at the time. She supports President Trump’s desire to make Venezuela a key ally and an energy hub for the Americas.
The United States is working with Mr. Rodriguez and other Venezuelan government officials to warn them that they must cooperate or risk sharing Mr. Maduro’s fate.
Diosdado Cabello, the hardline interior minister who oversees the security forces accused of widespread rights abuses, is under particular scrutiny, officials told Reuters.
Mr. Rodriguez himself is under U.S. sanctions, and foreign financial assets have been identified as potential leverage, according to a person briefed on the administration’s thinking.
