U.S. seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker evading U.S. blockade on Venezuela: The U.S. military intercepted a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic on Wednesday.
The ship had evaded U.S. efforts to crack down on Venezuela’s energy exports, U.S. officials said. The operation came after the Marinera had slipped through a U.S. maritime “blockade” of sanctioned tankers going to and from Venezuela and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it. The U.S. military issued a statement on X saying that U.S. forces had “seized” the vessel for violating U.S. sanctions. The Coast Guard boarded the tanker after a roughly two-week pursuit, according to one U.S. official briefed on the operation. The Coast Guard encountered no resistance or hostility from the crew, the official said, speaking to the New York Times on the condition of anonymity. The Russian Transport Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. seizure was a violation of maritime law.
Trump announces plans to take up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil: President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Venezuela’s interim government will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of “high-quality, sanctioned oil” to the U.S. and is to be sold at market prices, while the proceeds will be under the control of his administration. Trump directed energy secretary Chris Wright to execute the plan immediately and said storage vessels would ship the crude directly to U.S. ports. Trump framed the move as one intended “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.” The oil could be worth up to $2.8 billion at current prices, Reuters reported. Wright said on Wednesday that the United States plans “indefinitely” to have control over Venezuela’s oil industry.
“Going forward we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Wright said at a Goldman Sachs energy conference near Miami.
Washington spells out additional demands: The Trump administration told interim authorities in Venezuela they must meet its demands before being allowed to expand their own oil production or exports, including severing ties with China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba. The U.S. claimed exclusive partnership and control over oil logistics, according to ABC News. Washington is demanding that Venezuela open its oil sector to U.S. companies, expel Cuban security personnel, curb northward migration and narcotics flows, and end its cooperation with Iran, with U.S. officials warning of additional punishment if it fails to comply.
Cabello facing threats from U.S., Reuters reports: Intermediaries from the Trump administration notified Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello (above left) that unless he cooperates with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, he could be a U.S. target, according to Reuters. Officials reportedly fear that acting against Cabello directly could spark unrest from pro-government armed groups known as colectivos.
More oil tankers attempt to slip the U.S. blockade: At least 16 sanctioned oil tankers appear to have tried to evade the U.S.-enforced naval blockade on Venezuela’s oil exports over the past two days, The New York Times reported. Satellite imagery and shipping data show the tankers had been docked in Venezuelan ports, but departed after President Nicolás Maduro’s capture. Four tankers sailed east using fake names and spoofed positions, while 12 others turned off their tracking signals entirely. 15 of the 16 ships are part of a sanctioned “ghost fleet” previously used to ship Iranian and Russian oil.
Rodríguez says Venezuela is not under foreign control: Responding directly to Trump’s warning that she would “pay a higher price than Maduro” if she failed to comply, Rodríguez said: “My fate is not decided by anyone but God. That is my response.”
The U.S. operation in Venezuela killed at least 56 Venezuelan and Cuban defense personnel: U.S. forces killed at least 56 Venezuelan and Cuban military and security personnel during the operation to kidnap President Nicolás Maduro, according to official tolls released by authorities in Venezuela and Cuba. Venezuela’s armed forces said 24 service members were killed in the U.S. assault, while Havana said 32 Cuban military and interior ministry personnel—many assigned to Maduro’s security detail—were killed, including senior officers. Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López says Maduro’s security detail was almost entirely wiped out. Venezuelan authorities have not yet released an official civilian casualty count, but U.S. officials estimate between 67 and 80 people were killed during Saturday’s U.S. military raid.
Cabello says Cilia Flores insisted U.S. forces detain her as well: Venezuela’s Minister of Interior Diosdado Cabello said that First Lady Cilia Flores intervened during the U.S. military operation that captured her husband President Nicolás Maduro, with Flores telling U.S. forces that “if they were taking Maduro, they should take her as well.” Flores appeared yesterday in federal court in New York with visible bandages and bruising, and her lawyers said she suffered “significant injuries,” including possible damage to her ribs.
