Fears of Wider War Over Venezuela Oil as US Seizes Russian-Flagged Tanker

January7, 2026

“That is a confrontation of Cold War proportions,” warned one observer.

Jake Johnson

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.
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.
 

‘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.

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.”

‘We Are the Dominant Predator,’ Says GOP Lawmaker as Trump Weighs Military Takeover of Greenland

Brad Reed

Longtime US allies, including France and Germany, are reportedly meeting to discuss options should President Donald Trump move to annex Greenland.

Activists gather to protest against US President Donald Trump’s recent action in Venezuela on January 6, 2026 in Pasadena, California.

A Republican congressman on Wednesday made the case for seizing Greenland while describing the US as “the dominant predator” in the Western hemisphere.

During an interview with Fox Business, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) claimed that taking control of Greenland from Denmark was a vital strategic US interest, saying it should be seized regardless of the opinions of its residents.

“It’s important that we have a stake in Greenland, that they are, quite frankly, a protectorate of the United States,” said Ogles, who is the lead sponsor of legislation backing Trump’s Greenland takeover bid. “You know, they’ve been in... a relationship with Denmark, that needs to end... When you look at the Monroe Doctrine, you look at the Western hemisphere, we are the dominant predator, quite frankly, force in the Western hemisphere.”

Ogles’ belligerent remarks came as Reuters reported that longtime US allies, including France and Germany, are making plans for how to respond should Trump go through with trying to annex Greenland.

It is not clear what shape this response would take, though a senior European official told Reuters that “the Danes have yet to communicate to their European allies what kind of concrete support they wish to receive,” even while insisting that Denmark take the lead in pushing back against Trump’s threats.

The report noted that Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Finland’s parliament, has called on NATO members to “address whether something needs to be done and whether the United States should be brought into line in the sense that it cannot disregard jointly agreed plans in order to pursue its own power ambitions.”

While much of the Republican Party has largely been in lockstep in supporting Trump’s Greenland threats, not every GOP lawmaker is on board.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said during a Tuesday interview with CNN that he hoped to rally other Republicans against any plans to seize the country.

“This is appalling,” Bacon said. “Greenland is a NATO ally. We have a base on Greenland, we could put four or five bases on Greenland. They wouldn’t mind that, they would make agreements with us on mining.”

Bacon also emphasized the infeasibility of Trump’s plans.

“We’re not going to acquire Greenland,” he said. “Most people in Greenland want to remain independent... with Denmark providing some protection... So this is one of the silliest things I’ve heard come out of the White House in the last year. It’s unacceptable and I hope other Republicans line up behind me and make it clear to the White House that it’s wrong.”

Trump and his allies have been making more aggressive statements in recent days about taking Greenland, which Trump has called essential to US national security.

Top Trump aide Stephen Miller on Monday night refused to rule out using military force to take Greenland during a Monday interview with CNN, and further claimed that “the future of the free world depends on America to be able to assert ourselves and our interests without an apology.”