U.S. forces seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuelan crude exports on Wednesday, January 8, 2026 one flying a Russian flag in a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s blockade aimed at choking off most sanctioned oil flows from the country.
The operations, described as “back-to-back” by U.S. officials, targeted the Marinera (formerly Bella-1), a Russian-registered vessel pursued for weeks across the Atlantic after evading a U.S. Coast Guard boarding attempt in the Caribbean last month. The second tanker, the Panama-flagged M/T Sophia, was intercepted in international waters near the Caribbean.
The seizures come days after U.S. special forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a raid on Caracas, with Maduro now facing narco-terrorism charges in New York.
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In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump stated that he expects the United States to be “running Venezuela” and extracting its vast oil reserves “for years.”
“We will rebuild it in a very profitable way… We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil,” Trump said, adding that proceeds would benefit both nations but under U.S. oversight.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined a three-phase plan to Congress, including U.S. control over selling up to 50 million barrels of seized Venezuelan oil.
The actions have heightened global tensions:
Russia condemned the Marinera seizure as “piracy” and a violation of maritime law.
China accused the U.S. of threatening energy security.
Protests continue in Caracas, while Venezuela’s interim government negotiates under pressure.
By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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