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The United States has seized two oil tankers from the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
One of the tankers, a merchant vessel named Marinera operating under the Russian flag, has been seized in the North Atlantic.
Formerly known as the Bella-1, the Marinera was empty of oil, but the Trump administration says the tanker is part of a shadow fleet that carries oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the Trump administration shows no tolerance for the transportation of US-sanctioned oil, and the tanker's crew may face prosecution.
"The vessel had a judicial seizure order and the crew, so that means the crew is now subject to prosecution for any applicable violation of federal law, and they will be brought to the United States for such prosecution if necessary."
The US had been pursuing the Marinera since last month, after it tried to evade the U-S blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
The US military announced it had also secured a second sanctioned tanker in the Caribbean Sea, a Panama-flagged vessel called the Sophia.
According to records of Venezuela's state oil company, this second vessel was fully loaded, and Ms Leavitt says US plans are underway for the seized oil to be sold on the global market.
"This was the sanctioned oil that was basically just sitting in barrels, sitting on ships because of the effective quarantine of the United States of America. And the interim authorities have agreed to release that oil to the United States, so it will be arriving here at home very soon."
The seizure of the two tankers takes place just days after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military raid on Caracas, an operation legal experts say was a clear violation of international law.
President Donald Trump has since openly spoken of controlling Venezuela's vast oil reserves, in conjunction with US oil companies.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has confirmed the US has plans for long-term control of Venezuela’s oil industry.
"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 Venezuelans getting that money will then be may handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people. Not corruption, not the regime so we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilisation front. The second phase will be a phase that we call recovery, and that is ensuring that American, Western and other companies have access to the Venezuelan market in a way that's fair."
President Trump says the US has already reached a deal with Caracas to import US$2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude oil to the US, the world's largest oil consumer.
The deal could initially require cargoes that were originally bound for China, Venezuela's top oil buyer, to be rerouted.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning says the US continues to violate international law and must not be allowed to disrupt trade between sovereign nations.
"The United States has long imposed illegal, unilateral sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, and has recently brazenly used force against Venezuela, dealing a severe blow to the country’s economic and social order and also threatening the stability of global production and supply chains. China has already issued strong condemnation in this regard. I would like to reiterate that cooperation between China and Venezuela is a cooperation between sovereign states, and is protected by international law and the laws of both countries."
Responding to the US's seizure of the two oil tankers, the United Nations Secretary-General's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric has urged de-escalation and compliance with international law.
"Enforcement actions on the oceans and seas are to be taken in accordance with applicable international law in order to ensure maritime safety and security on the high seas. And we would want to see avoidance of any further escalation."
Mr Dujarric says a state's sovereignty over its natural resources must be respected as a cornerstone of International human rights law.
"Whether it's Venezuela or other countries where this issue has arisen, the oil in Venezuela belongs to the Venezuelan people, just as the oil in Syria belongs to the Syrian people and the natural resources of any country belong to the people of that country."
