US seizes oil tankers in dramatic raids on high seas
President Donald Trump is talking tough on selling Venezuelan oil as the United States seized two tankers in another dramatic raid.
Source: X (Secretary Kristi Noem)
President Donald Trump says the US will sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which Democrats have labelled an “insane plan” and tantamount to “stealing”.
It comes as the US seized two oil tankers in dramatic raids on the high seas as it targets “ghost ships” suspected of violating American bans on global sales of Venezuelan oil.
The US said both ships were part of a large illegal fleet carrying oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in defiance of sanctions, mostly to customers in Asia.
Moscow condemned the seizures as it emerged that one of the ships that was boarded by US forces in the Atlantic — Bella 1 — was under a Russian flag.
The second vessel, seized in the Caribbean, had links to Venezuela.
The US had been pursuing the Bella 1 tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
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The US has been pursuing the Bella 1 tanker since last month after it tried to evade a blockade. Photo: AAP
The two ship seizures come just days after US military forces captured Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in an extraordinary raid.
Since then, officials in the US administration have said they intend to continue to seize sanctioned vessels connected to the country.
Meanwhile, Trump said the US would be selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to benefit the people of Venezuela.
The money would then be disbursed to the US and Venezuelan populations at the “discretion” of Trump’s government.
“I am pleased to announce that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump wrote on social media.
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“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela, and the United States!
“I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Democrats expressed shock at the plans, which they said amounted to stealing oil.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called it “an insane plan”.
“They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint for a period of time undefined as leverage to micromanage the country. The scope and insanity of that plan is absolutely stunning,” Murphy told reporters.
The Bella 1 was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The US Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela.
The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic.
During this time, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show.
The US official also confirmed that the ship’s crew had painted a Russian flag on the side of the hull.
Earlier on Wednesday (local time), open-source maritime tracking sites showed its position as between Scotland and Iceland, travelling north.
The US official also confirmed the ship was in the North Atlantic.
-with AAP
