US seeks court warrants to seize more Venezuelan oil tankers
This effort follows the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a US special forces raid on January 3 and aims to strengthen Washington’s control over the country’s oil exports. In recent weeks, US military and Coast Guard forces have already seized several vessels in international waters, including the Russian-flagged Marinera northwest of Scotland.
Reports indicate that the US Justice Department has filed multiple non-public civil forfeiture cases, mostly in Washington DC district courts, requesting warrants to seize numerous tankers accused of evading sanctions while moving oil from Venezuela, Iran, and Russia.
It is not yet clear how many additional seizure warrants are being pursued, but Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said last week that the US would “hunt down and interdict ALL dark fleet vessels transporting Venezuelan oil at the time and place of our choosing.”
Officials say the legal actions are consistent with President Trump’s stated goal of controlling Venezuela’s oil resources. While the White House presents the campaign as an effort to restore Venezuela’s oil industry for the benefit of its citizens, critics argue that it represents an unprecedented extraterritorial use of US law and unilateral sanctions.
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