US Seeks to Assert Control Over Oil    01/08 06:28

   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.

   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 Nicols 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.

   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 Rodrguez 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.