The United States seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela, including one also connected to Hezbollah, in back-to-back actions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, officials said Wednesday, and is removing sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of oil from the South American country to markets worldwide.

The action was part of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Venezuela’s socialist government to become an ally.

The two ship seizures come just days after US military forces conducted a surprise nighttime raid on Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and captured then-president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, whom President Donald Trump’s administration has accused of partnering with drug traffickers.

The Trump administration is now “selectively” removing sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to global markets, according to an outline of the policies published Wednesday by the Energy Department.

US European Command announced the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 for “violations of US sanctions” in a social media post on Wednesday. The US had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.

It was empty, but Washington says it has been used to transport sanctioned Venezuelan oil. The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

The US operation was supported by Britain’s Royal Air Force and one of its military vessels, which British Defense Secretary John Healey said was part of “global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting.”

The @TheJusticeDept & @DHSgov, in coordination with the @DeptofWar today announced the seizure of
the M/V........

© The Times of Israel