The United States seizes a Russian tanker accused of violating the blockade on Venezuelan crude, confirming Trump’s hard line on the Monroe Doctrine. Between sanctions, tensions with Moscow and Beijing and the global energy game, Washington is relaunching its influence on the Western Hemisphere
Donald Trump does not back down on the Monroe Doctrine. The United States has in fact seized an oil tanker flying the Russian flag which, followed by a Moscow submarine, is accused of having violated the blockade decreed by Washington on Venezuelan oil.
“The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of War, today announced the seizure of the oil tanker Bella 1 for violations of U.S. sanctions. The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court,” US European Command said, then continued: “This seizure supports the President of the United States’ proclamation targeting sanctioned vessels that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.” “The sanctioned and illegal blockade of Venezuelan oil remains in full force, everywhere in the world,” added the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, for his part, while the United Kingdom announced that it had provided support to the US in the seizure operation. “The ship seized in the North Atlantic… demonstrates that the United States will not tolerate ships violating sanctions,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also said. “The vessel had a judicial seizure order against the crew, which means the crew is now subject to criminal prosecution for any violation of federal law and, if necessary, will be brought to the United States for such prosecution,” he continued.
“Freedom of navigation applies on the high seas and no state has the right to use force against ships duly registered in the jurisdiction of other states,” thundered Moscow’s transport ministry. “Given the incoming information about the presence of Russian citizens among the crew, we call on the American side to ensure humane and dignified treatment of them, strictly respect their rights and interests, and not prevent their prompt return to their homeland,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
According to the Guardian“the vessel was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 for alleged smuggling of goods destined for Hezbollah.” “The US Coast Guard attempted to board the ship in the Caribbean in December, while it was headed to Venezuela. But the ship refused boarding and crossed the Atlantic,” continued the British newspaper.
Not only that. In the same hours, Washington also announced that it had seized a second oil tanker, also linked to Venezuela, in the Caribbean Sea. Let us remember that, despite the capture of Nicolas Maduro last Saturday, the United States has for now kept the blockade on Venezuelan crude in place. The White House’s objective is to intensify US influence on the Western Hemisphere, stemming the maneuvers of hostile powers, starting with Russia and China. It is therefore in this context that the seizure of the oil tanker flying the Russian flag should be mainly read. Be that as it may, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington was “about to conclude a deal” under which Washington could obtain tens of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil and “sell it on the market at market prices.”
In all this, we must not forget that Moscow and Beijing have always found their main point of reference in Latin America in the Maduro regime. In particular, the People’s Republic has so far been the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude oil. It is also from this perspective that Trump aims to bring US oil companies back to the Latin American country. Furthermore, it is no mystery that, for him, geopolitics and energy are two essentially inseparable elements.
