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US boarded tanker that escaped blockade and put up Russian

flag

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US also seized second Venezuela-linked tanker

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Venezuela's main buyer China denounces US 'bullying'

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Oil prices fall on anticipated supply increase

By Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Marianna Parraga

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. seized two

Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday,

one sailing under Russia's flag, as part of President Donald

Trump's aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and

force Venezuela's socialist government to become an ally.

After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a

Saturday military raid ‌on Caracas, the U.S. is escalating its

blockade of vessels that are under sanctions and going to and

from the South American country, a member of the OPEC oil group.

The White House also said it plans to roll back some of the

sanctions Trump placed on Venezuelan oil ​in 2019 during his

first term.

A weeks-long chase across the Atlantic ended on Wednesday

morning when the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. military special

forces, bearing a judicial seizure warrant, apprehended the

Marinera crude oil ‍tanker, which had refused to be boarded last

month before switching to Russia's flag, officials said.

The U.S. operation was supported by Britain's Royal Air Force

and ⁠one of its military vessels, which British Defence ⁠Secretary

John Healey said was part of "global efforts to crack down on

sanctions busting."

With a Russian submarine and vessels nearby, the seizure risked

more confrontation with Russia, which has condemned U.S. actions

over Venezuela and is already at odds with the West due to the

war in Ukraine. ‌The Kremlin did not respond to a request for

comment on what is a public holiday in Russia.

Earlier ​on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard also intercepted

a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, the Panama-flagged M Sophia,

near the northeast coast of South America, the U.S. officials

said, in the fourth seizure in recent weeks. The tanker was

fully loaded, according to records of Venezuela's state oil

company PDVSA.

U.S. TARGETS 'SHADOW FLEET'

The Marinera, formerly known as the Bella-1, was empty ⁠of

oil, but the U.S. says it and the M Sophia belong to a "shadow

fleet" of tankers used ‍to transport sanctioned oil ​from

Venezuela and Iran.

"The only maritime energy transport allowed will be that

consistent with American law and national security," Stephen

Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, said in a statement.

"There is unlimited economic potential for the Venezuelan energy

sector through legitimate and authorized commercial avenues

established by the United States."

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the

Marinera crew had ‍made "frantic efforts to avoid apprehension"

and "failed to obey" Coast Guard orders, and so faces criminal

charges.

CHINA DENOUNCES 'BULLYING'

Trump's administration was also pressing a deal with Venezuela

to divert supplies intended for China, Venezuela's top buyer,

and gain access to $2 billion worth of crude oil.

"The United States' brazen use of force against Venezuela

and its demand for 'America First' when Venezuela disposes of

its own oil resources are typical acts of bullying," Chinese

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters.

Trump has openly spoken of controlling Venezuela's vast oil

reserves, in conjunction with U.S. oil companies, after

arresting and jailing Maduro, whom he has cast as a

drug-trafficking dictator in league with Washington's foes.

Maduro, 63, pleaded not guilty this week to drug crimes when he

appeared in shackles in a federal court in New York.

Maduro's Socialist Party allies remain in power in Venezuela,

where Acting President Delcy Rodriguez is treading ​a fine line

between denouncing ‍Maduro's "kidnapping" and kick-starting

cooperation with the U.S. under explicit threats of further

military violence from Trump.

Rodriguez herself is under U.S. sanctions, with her foreign

financial assets identified as potential leverage, one person

briefed on U.S. administration thinking said.

Top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of

State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, held

classified briefings on Venezuela on Wednesday for the U.S.

Senate ​and House of Representatives. Democrats said they wanted

more information.

"They are proposing to steal Venezuela's oil, at gunpoint,

and use that leverage, forever, to run the country," Democratic

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters.

U.S. PLANS TO SELL VENEZUELAN OIL

Trump, a Republican, said on Tuesday that the U.S. would refine

and sell up to 50 million barrels of crude oil stuck in

Venezuela under U.S. sanctions, a first step in his plan to

revive a sector long in decline despite sitting on the world's

largest reserves.

To enable the deal Trump described, the U.S. is "selectively

rolling back sanctions" on Venezuelan oil, White House Press

Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday.

"We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of

oil," Rubio said. "We're going to sell it in the marketplace, at

market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting."

PDVSA confirmed it was in negotiations with the U.S. on

Wednesday and said terms on the table are based on "strictly

commercial transactions ​under terms that are legal, transparent

and beneficial for both parties."

Crude oil prices fell on world markets due to anticipated

increased supplies released by Trump's plan.

China, Russia and leftist allies of Venezuela have all

denounced the U.S. attack to capture Maduro, in which dozens of

Venezuelans were killed. It was Washington's biggest such

intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama

to topple Manuel Noriega.

Washington's allies are also deeply uneasy at the extraordinary

precedent of seizing a foreign head of state, with Trump

threatening more action, from Mexico to ‍Greenland, to further

U.S. interests.