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US takes control of Venezuelan exports, seizes five sanctioned vessels; further seizures possible, but action paused since Friday; Russia, relying on shadow fleet, says seizures are illegal
(Reuters) – The United States has applied for a court warrant to seize dozens more tankers linked to Venezuela’s oil trade, four sources familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. government tightens its control over oil shipments to the South American country.
In recent weeks, the U.S. military and Coast Guard have seized five ships in international waters that are or have been transporting Venezuelan oil. The seizures are part of Washington’s campaign to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, which culminated in the U.S. military’s capture of him on January 3.
Since then, President Donald Trump’s administration has announced plans to take control of Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely in a bid to rebuild its devastated oil industry.
In December, President Trump imposed a blockade to prevent sanctioned tankers from transporting Venezuelan crude oil, bringing exports to a near standstill. Shipments resumed this week under U.S. supervision.
Action allows forfeiture
Sources told Reuters that the U.S. government has filed several civil forfeiture actions, primarily in District Court in Washington, D.C., that allow for the seizure and confiscation of oil cargoes and vessels involved in the trade. They declined to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
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Sources said it was unclear exactly how many seizure warrants the U.S. had applied for and how many had already been received because the applications and legal orders were not made public. Dozens of cases have been filed, they added.
The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The vessels already seized were part of a “shadow fleet” of unregulated vessels that are either under U.S. sanctions or disguise their departures to transport oil from major sanctioned producers Iran, Russia and Venezuela.
There are still many tankers at sea that are or have been transporting Venezuelan oil to its biggest buyer, China. The United States has imposed sanctions on many of these vessels for facilitating oil trade with Venezuela and Iran.
Seizures suspended from Friday: Source
U.S. ship-seizure operations have been suspended since Friday, sources said. Actions against ships and cargo that do not have U.S. permits could be resumed, it said.
The Pentagon will work with other U.S. agencies to “hunt down and interdict all Dark Fleet vessels transporting Venezuelan oil at a time and place of our choosing,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Friday on X, opens new tab.
The US has targeted both ships and their cargo in recent seizures. This is an expansion from past seizures of Iranian cargo between 2020 and 2023, shipping industry sources said. In these earlier incidents, U.S. law enforcement officers seized oil cargoes but not the vessels themselves.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media on January 7 that the Justice Department was “monitoring several other vessels for similar enforcement action” after the empty tanker, Bela 1, was seized, marking the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military had seized a Russian-flagged vessel.
Russia, like Venezuela, relies on a shadow fleet to transport oil under sanctions.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry described the action as an “unlawful use of force” and added in a new tab by the US military that the application of US sanctions “has no legal basis”.
Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Andrew Goudsward. Editing: Simon Webb and Rod Nickell
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