Russia responds after US seized two Venezuelan oil tankers

Russia’s Ministry of Transport said that it lost contact with the tanker seized by the US in the North Atlantic as American troops boarded the ship.

The ministry said on December 24, the tanker ‘received a temporary permit to fly the Russian Federation flag, issued in accordance with Russian law and international law.’

Before the seizure, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that it was ‘following with concern the anomalous situation that has developed around the Russian oil tanker Marinera.’

As US troops took over the ship, the transport ministry said the ship was ‘outside the territorial waters of any state’ and ‘contact with the vessel was lost.’

Immediately after, Russian officials cited the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, noting, ‘No state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states.’

Karoline Leavitt said the United States has ‘maximum leverage’ over Venezuela after the ‘historic and incredibly successful military operation’ that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

‘The Trump administration is in close correspondence with interim authorities in Venezuela,’ she said.

‘We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now, and the president has made it very clear that this is a country that is no longer going to be sending illegal drugs to the United States of America.’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she ‘laughed out loud’ when she read a New Yorker piece claiming Vice President JD Vance has not been included in the operations in Venezuela.

‘It’s very clear it’s a fake report that’s trying to sow mistrust and division amongst the president and his team,’ she said.

Speculation over Vance’s role in the operation began when he did not appear in the Situation Room-style photos published by the White House following Maduro’s capture.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and ‘unserious person.’

‘Diplomacy is always the first option, as you saw, [Trump] tried that with Nicolas Maduro, but unfortunately he was an illegitimate dictator and unserious person,’ she said.

‘So President Trump authorized this law enforcement operation and now Nicolas Maduro is sitting in a prison cell in New York.’

Marco Rubio told reporters that change in Venezuela will take time and that it is a process.

‘The bottom line is that there is a process now in place where we have tremendous control and leverage over what those interim authorities are doing and are able to do. But obviously, this will be a process of transition,’ Rubio said.

‘In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country. I’m not going to give you a timeline on it. We want it to move as soon as possible.’

He added, ‘It’s been four days since this happened. I understand that in the cycle and society we now live in, everyone wants instant outcomes. They want it to happen overnight.

‘It’s not going to work that way, but we are already seeing progress with this new deal that’s been announced and more deals to follow.’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the US is ‘about to execute on a deal’ to take ‘all the oil that is stuck in Venezuela.’

‘We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. We’re going to sell it in the marketplace at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting,’ he said.

‘That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime.’

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela’s interim government asked that the oil seized by the US this morning be included in a deal.

‘One of those ships that were seized that had oil in the Caribbean, you know what the interim authorities are asking for in Venezuela? They want that oil that was seized to be part of this deal,’ he said.

‘They understand that the only way they can move oil and generate revenue and not have economic collapse is if they cooperate and work with the United States.’

Emmanuel Belostrino, senior manager of crude oil market data at analytics firm Kpler, told CNN the Sophia tanker seized in the Caribbean is carrying approximately two million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela.

‘M Sophia is laden with around two million barrels of Merey crude oil, loaded from Jose Oil Terminal (JOT) around December 26-29, as confirmed by satellite imagery and port reports seen by Kpler,’ Belostrino said.

He added, ‘The VLCC’s (very large crude carrier) previous voyage was also from Venezuela, when it similarly loaded around two million barrels of Merey crude in early August 2025 before heading to offshore Malaysia (EOPL).

‘The sanctioned cargo was likely transferred to another vessel via dark ship-to-ship transfer, but Kpler has not determined the partner vessel.’

Two million barrels of crude oil is roughly $113million based on the current price of crude oil.

Andrei Klishas, a member of the upper house of Russia’s parliament, told TASS state news agency the American oil tanker seizure is ‘outright piracy.’

Donald Trump announced a deal with the Venezuelan regime to give the United States 30 to 50 million barrels of oil which could be worth up to $2billion on Truth Social yesterday.

‘I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,’ he wrote.

‘This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!’

President Donald Trump’s emergency command aircraft streaked across the country to Washington DC as global tensions escalate.

The Boeing E-4B Nightwatch, also known as the ‘Doomsday plane,’ serves as a flying command post for top officials during times of crisis and is built to survive a nuclear attack while coordinating military action.

Flight tracking sites recorded the E-4B departing Omaha, Nebraska, blazing eastward before landing at Camp Springs, just outside the capital, Tuesday evening.