US forces intercepted two oil tankers associated with Venezuelan exports in the North Atlantic and near the Caribbean, an operation that prolongs the partial blockade of the South American country’s crude oil and increases friction with Russia.
According to a report of The New York Timesthe United States Coast Guard boarded the tanker known as Bella 1after a chase of more than two weeks in which the vessel tried to evade controls and changed its flag to the Russian flag.
He Bella 1 He had an embargo order issued by a US federal judge due to a history of transporting Iranian oil linked to sanctioned networks. In support of the interdiction, the Pentagon deployed air assets, including a Navy P-8 aircraft and AC-130 aircraft, which followed the ship’s route between Iceland and the United Kingdom.
The operation, the newspaper explains, was carried out without resistance from the crew and without Russian naval presence in the area, which avoided a possible military incident, according to US officials with knowledge of the action.
Almost simultaneously, US forces seized a second ship, the M Sophiain international waters near the Caribbean. The ship lacked a valid national flag, a condition that allowed its boarding, and will be escorted to the United States for final disposal, according to the Southern Command.
In a pre-dawn action this morning, the Department of War, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident.
The interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and… pic.twitter.com/JQm9gHprPk
— US Southern Command (@Southcom) January 7, 2026
Post-Maduro seizures and Russian protest
The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, described the maneuver of the Bella 1 as “a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice” and praised the actions of the Coast Guard. However, the White House declined to comment on operational details.
The seizures occur days after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and are part of a strategy to limit Venezuela’s oil revenues, key to its economy.
President Donald Trump has stated that Washington will supervise the commercialization of Venezuelan crude oilwhile the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, indicated that this control would be maintained indefinitely.
For its part, review SputnikRussia protested the boarding of the Bella 1whom he identified as Sailorand denounced that the collision occurred in international waters, violating the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
According to international regulations, no State has the right to use force against ships duly registered in other jurisdictions.
Russia also stressed that the Sailor received temporary permission to operate under the Russian flag on December 24, 2025, in accordance with Russian legislation and international law.
Trump, oil and the warning to Venezuela
Trump affirmed this week that the Government of Venezuela, headed provisionally by the president in charge Delcy Rodriguezis willing to deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil that will be sold in the US market.
In a post on his Truth Social social network, Trump called the crude oil “high-quality oil authorized in the United States.”
Likewise, he assured that he himself will control the income derived from that sale to “guarantee that they are used for the benefit of the Venezuelan people and the United States.”
According to the Republican president, the plan will be executed immediately by the Department of Energy, led by Secretary Chris Wright, the agency noted EFE.
The millions of barrels, he specified, will be transported in storage vessels directly to the unloading docks in the United States, although he did not offer a specific time frame for the operation.
For her part, acting president Delcy Rodríguez rejected that any external actor governs the country, although she did not directly refer to Trump’s warning. “
“We are here governing alongside the people, the Government of Venezuela governs our country, no one else, there is no external agent that governs Venezuela,” he stated.
