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War & Peace
Fears of Wider War Over Venezuela Oil as US Seizes Russian-Flagged Tanker
"That is a confrontation of Cold War proportions," warned one observer.
Jan 07, 2026
Update:
US forces have now boarded and seized control of the Russian-flagged oil vessel in the North Atlantic, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Earlier:
United States military forces on Wednesday attempted to board and seize control of a Venezuela-linked and Russian-flagged oil tanker after a weekslong pursuit across the Atlantic, sparking fears of a broader conflict stemming from US President Donald Trump's assault on the South American country.
Reuters reported that the US Coast Guard and military are leading the takeover operation, which came "after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a US maritime 'blockade' of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it." According to the Wall Street Journal, "Helicopters and at least one Coast Guard vessel were being used to take control of the tanker."
The vessel is reportedly being escorted by a Russian submarine, fueling concerns of a direct confrontation between two nuclear powers.
Video footage published Tuesday by RT purports to show US forces pursuing the tanker, whose name was recently changed to the Marinera.
BREAKING WORLD EXCLUSIVE: RT obtains FIRST footage of Russian-flagged civilian Marinera tanker being CHASED by US Coast Guard warship in the North Atlantic https://t.co/sNbqJkm5O5 pic.twitter.com/XtbBML3a6j
— RT (@RT_com) January 6, 2026
The New York Times reported that US forces first stopped the tanker in the Caribbean on December 21.
According to the Times:
The ship, which started its journey in Iran, had been on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela.
At the time, the United States said it had a seizure warrant on the vessel because it was not flying a valid national flag. But the Bella 1 refused to be boarded and sailed into the Atlantic, with the United States in pursuit.
Then came a series of moves to ward off the United States. The fleeing crew painted a Russian flag on the hull, the tanker was renamed and added to an official Russian ship database, and Russia made a formal diplomatic request that the United States stop its chase.
Observers voiced alarm over the tense and fast-moving situation.
"Don’t wish to be hyperbolic, but if—if—US special forces are intercepting and seeking to board a now Russian-flagged tanker, apparently with submarine escort, then that is a confrontation of Cold War proportions," warned British journalist Jon Sopel.
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'Straight-Up Piracy and Extortion': Trump Says He Will Control Money From Sale of Venezuelan Oil
US President Donald Trump declared that Venezuela will hand over up to 50 million barrels of oil—which could be sold for around $3 billion.
Jan 07, 2026
US President Donald Trump claimed late Tuesday that Venezuela's interim leadership will turn over to the United States as many as 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to be sold at market price, part of a broader, unlawful administration effort to seize the South American nation's natural resources.
Trump, who authorized the illegal US bombing of Venezuela and abduction of its president this past weekend, said he would control the proceeds of the sale—which could amount to $3 billion.
"Just straight-up piracy and extortion from the US president," journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote in response.
Consistent with his administration's conduct since the weekend attack that killed at least 75 people in Venezuela, Trump provided few details on how his scheme would work or how it would comply with domestic and international law, both of which the president has repeatedly disregarded and treated with contempt.
It's also not clear that Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's acting president and an ally of Nicolás Maduro, has agreed to Trump's plan, which he announced on social media as his administration worked to entice US oil giants to take part in its effort to exploit the South American nation's vast reserves.
Ahead of the US attack on Venezuela, the Trump administration imposed a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers approaching or leaving Venezuela, pushing the country closer to economic collapse. The New York Times noted Tuesday that Trump's decision to "begin targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan crude to Asian markets had paralyzed the state oil company’s exports."
"To keep the wells pumping, the state oil company, known as PDVSA, had been redirecting crude oil into storage tanks and turning tankers idling in ports into floating storage facilities," the Times reported. During Trump's first White House term, he banned US companies from working with PDVSA.
Trump wrote in his social media post Tuesday that the tens of millions of barrels of oil "will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States."
"I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately," Trump wrote.
The Trump administration is also pushing Venezuela's interim leadership to meet a series of US demands before it can pump more oil, ABC News reported late Tuesday. Trump has illegally threatened to launch another attack on Venezuela, and target more of its politicians, if the country's leadership doesn't follow his administration's orders.
According to ABC, the Trump administration has instructed Venezuela to "kick out China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba and sever economic ties."
"Second, Venezuela must agree to partner exclusively with the US on oil production and favor America when selling heavy crude oil," ABC added, citing unnamed sources. "According to one person, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in a private briefing on Monday that he believes the US can force Venezuela's hand because its existing oil tankers are full. Rubio also told lawmakers that the US estimates that Caracas has only a couple of weeks before it will become financially insolvent without the sale of its oil reserves."
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'No Blood for Oil': Platner Slams 'Spineless' Susan Collins for Backing Illegal Attack on Venezuela
"The illegal attack on Venezuela is not foreign policy; it’s gangsterism on an international scale," said the Democratic Mainer running for Senate.
Jan 06, 2026
Since the Trump administration invaded Venezuela to abduct President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, Graham Platner, a military veteran and Democratic US Senate candidate from Maine, has been calling out not only the attack, but also the Republican lawmakers who enabled it—particularly Sen. Susan Collins, whom he hopes to beat next November.
After the attack, Collins said that while "Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves," she was "personally briefed" by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Maduro is "a narco-terrorist and international drug trafficker... who should stand trial" in the United States.
Platner, who became an oyster farmer and harbormaster after his four infantry tours in the US Army and Marine Corps, responded to Collins on social media, "As someone who works with many invertebrates, I know a spineless response when I see one..."
The progressive candidate also joined protesters in Portland on Saturday, addressing the crowd at Longfellow Square.
"This is not foreign policy. This is gangsterism on an international scale," Platner said to cheers. "We must not be fooled by the childish lies being used to justify this illegal aggression. Be wary of the establishment voices in media and in politics who, over the next few weeks, will work tirelessly to manufacture consent, even when they sound like they are opposed."
"Keep an ear out for 'this operation is bad, but' followed by words about democracy, dictatorship, and international law," he warned. "If those were justifications for invasion and abduction, we'd have invaded many of our allies a long time ago."
"Those voices are doing the work of empire, and we must be vigilant for their duplicitousness," he continued. "If they are media figures, change the channel. If they are political figures, work tirelessly to remove them from power."
President Donald Trump—who was elected with the backing of fossil fuel billionaires—addressed the nation after the attack on Saturday and again made clear that he has set his sights on Venezuelan oil.
In response to Trump, Platner called "bullshit," adding, "I watched my friends die in Iraq in the wake of speeches like this one." He also posted photos from the Portland protest and declared, "No blood for oil."
Platner also put out a video blasting the failure of federal lawmakers to pass a war powers resolution requiring congressional authorization for military action against the South American country.
In recent months, both GOP-controlled chambers of Congress have failed to pass resolutions that would have blocked Trump's strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats and war with Venezuela. In both Senate votes, Collins has voted no.
Platner highlighted the Republican senator's November vote against the Venezuela measure, which failed 49-51, and said that "from Iraq to Venezuela, you can count on Susan Collins to enable illegal foreign wars."
Meanwhile, Collins has affirmed her support for the US operation in Venezuela, saying in a Monday interview with News Center Maine that Maduro "should stand trial on American soil."
During Maduro's first court appearance in New York City on Monday, he said that "I am the president of Venezuela, and I consider myself a prisoner of war," and pleaded not guilty—as did his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also captured in Caracas.
Amid mounting global outrage and arguments that their abduction violated the US Constitution and international law, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has pledged to force another vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution this week.
Maine's other US senator, Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, has voted for both previous war powers resolutions. After Trump abducted Maduro, King said that "I'm very concerned about where this leads."
"The Constitution lays out very clearly that Congress has the power to declare war," King added. "I know Congress has abdicated many of its powers in recent years, but I hope and plan on trying to return those fundamental duties back to the legislative branch as the founders designed."
Under reported pressure from Schumer, Maine Gov. Janet Mills is facing Platner in the Democratic primary contest for the Senate race. Although she has been friendlier to Collins than her progressive opponent, Mills has also called out the Republican senator over the Venezuela attack, saying that she "gave Donald Trump the green light to move us unilaterally towards a costly and unjustified war when she voted with her party against a bill to check his power."
"We have had enough of Sen. Collins feigning concern about the president's abuses on the one hand while she rubber-stamps his agenda and his actions on the other," Mills said. "I call on Susan Collins to use the power she claims to have as Maine's senior senator to demand accountability from the Trump administration and stand up to his dangerous and self-motivated power grab."
Polling published last month showed mixed results in the primary race, in the wake of Platner facing criticism for past social media posts and a tattoo he had covered up. His campaign told Axios on Monday that the candidate raised $4.7 million from more than 182,000 contributions in the final quarter of 2025, with an average donation of $25 per person.
"While the political elites in both parties have tried to write this movement off as a flash in the pan, we have shown time and time again that we not only have staying power but are building a ship that will last," Platner said in a statement.
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China's Foreign Ministry Demands Maduro's Immediate Release, Rips 'So-Called' Trial
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro "seriously violates Venezuela’s national sovereignty and destabilizes international relations."
Jan 06, 2026
A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday demanded the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from US custody and condemned the Trump administration's trampling of international law.
"The US disregards President Maduro’s status as head of state, blatantly prosecutes him, and puts him on a so-called 'trial' in a domestic court," Lin Jian wrote in a social media post. "This seriously violates Venezuela’s national sovereignty and destabilizes international relations."
"No country should put its domestic rules above international law," Lin added. "China calls on the US to release President Maduro and his wife at once and ensure their personal safety."
The U.S. disregards President Maduro’s status as head of state, blatantly prosecutes him and puts him on a so-called “trial” in a domestic court. This seriously violates Venezuela’s national sovereignty and destabilizes international relations.
No country should put its… pic.twitter.com/v1xQqE4Cqo
— Lin Jian 林剑 (@SpoxCHN_LinJian) January 6, 2026
The Chinese official's remarks came a day after Maduro said Monday during his first appearance before a federal court in New York City that he is "still president" of Venezuela—a sentiment echoed by the country's interim leader—and considers himself a "prisoner of war." Maduro pleaded not guilty to narcoterrorism conspiracy and other charges pursued by the Trump Justice Department.
During a press conference on Monday, Lin called the US abduction of Maduro a "clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," expressing a view widely held by legal experts.
"China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation," said Lin.
Under international law, sitting heads of state are immune from prosecution in other countries' courts. The Trump administration argues Maduro's leadership was illegitimate. But President Donald Trump, in his social media post announcing the weekend attack on Venezuela, described Maduro as president of the South American country.
"If the Justice Department plans to argue that Nicolás Maduro is not protected by head of state immunity," asked Francisco Rodríguez, a senior fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, "then why did President Trump announce his capture referring to him as 'President Maduro'—a designation that the US government had stopped using in 2019?"
An unsealed US indictment against Maduro characterizes him as "previously the president of Venezuela."
Chimène Keitner, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, wrote Tuesday that the Trump administration "appears to feel that its military and economic superiority allow it to act unilaterally in violation of international law, and that cooperation and alliances are overrated."
"That might seem appealing in the short term, but the world has already seen where unchecked expansionism and claimed spheres of influence lead," wrote Keitner. "The benefits of following agreed-upon rules have often been recognized only after significant harm caused by their disregard."
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