The U.S. Coast Guard seized a Venezuela-linked oil tanker, the U.S. military said Wednesday, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. will control Venezuela’s oil sales and production “indefinitely.”
KEY FACTS
The Russian-flagged tanker, known as the Bella 1 and now called the Marinera, was seized in the North Atlantic for a violation of U.S. sanctions, the U.S. European Command said in a statement.
The seizure comes as Wright said the U.S. would control Venezuela’s oil sales and production “indefinitely” while speaking at a Goldman Sachs energy conference near Miami, The New York Times reported.
President Donald Trump also said Tuesday Venezuela would send 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. immediately after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend and toppled his regime
