The Latest: US closes in on Venezuelan oil with tanker seizures and eased sanctions

In a move to assert control over Venezuelan oil, President Donald Trump 's administration on Wednesday seized a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announced plans to ''selectively'' remove some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela's petroleum worldwide.

The seizures of the tankers in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea reflect the Republican administration's determination to enforce an existing oil embargo on Venezuela as Trump has pledged the U.S. will ''run'' the country following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven reserves of crude oil. What of it that's now transported in and out of the country will be through channels consistent with U.S. law and national security interests, the U.S. Energy Department said.

That level of control could give the Trump administration a tight hold on oil supplies globally in ways that could enable it to influence prices.

The Latest:

Sen. Mitch McConnell pushes back on Trump's Greenland threats

The former Republican Senate leader is warning the Trump administration against military threats against Denmark as the president tries to take possession of Greenland.

White House finalizes plan to curb law requiring environmental reviews

The action by the White House Council on Environmental Quality rescinds regulations implementing a landmark environmental law that requires federal agencies to consider a project's possible environmental impacts before it is approved. The White House says the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, needlessly delays federal approvals for energy and infrastructure projects.

In a statement Wednesday, CEQ Chairwoman Katherine Scarlett said the directive will ''slash needless layering of bureaucratic burden and restore common sense to the environmental review and permitting process.'' Under Trump, she added, ''NEPA's regulatory reign of terror has ended.''

The action comes as Congress comes as Congress considers legislation intended to speed up permitting reviews for new energy and infrastructure projects and limit judicial review. A bill approved by the Republican-controlled House would enact the most significant change in decades to NEPA.

Senators doubt Trump is seriously considering invading Greenland

After a classified Capitol Hill briefing Wednesday with administration officials, some senators expressed doubts that the president is seriously considering invading the resource-rich country.

''To invade Greenland and attack its sovereignty, a federal NATO country, would be weapons-grade stupid,'' said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana.

''President Trump is not weapons-grade stupid, nor is Marco Rubio,'' the secretary of state.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, said Trump is ''fixated on Greenland'' but ''doesn't want to go to war.''

Trump has ordered multiple military actions in his second presidency, most recently deposing Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela's president. But Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, said it's ''apples and oranges'' to use Trump's Venezuela approach to Greenland.

Rubio dismissed senators' criticism that he's ‘winging it'

''I used to be a senator, too, that's what you always say,'' he said, when the other political party is in power.

Rubio outlined the Trump administration's his three-point plan for Venezuela during a press gaggle after a classified briefing for senators at the Capitol.

''The bottom line is we've gone into great detail,'' he said, about the planning of the military operation and its aftermath.

''It's not just winging it,'' Rubio said. ''It's not just saying or speculating what was going to happen. It's already happening.''

He said the oil revenues from Venezuela and the tankers being seized will be reinvested into the country.

GOP senators tout Greenland's strategic value but balk at military action

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several Republican senators said that the potential purchase of Greenland was discussed Wednesday during a classified briefing primarily focused on Venezuela, though many stopped short of supporting military action to acquire the territory – an option the White House has said is not off the table.

''I think Greenland would be a huge asset to America,'' Sen. Roger Marshall said as he left the briefing. ''It could be very critical to our national security going forward. I hope that we can work out a deal.''

GOP Sen. John Hoeven agreed, saying Greenland ''has strategic importance,'' but he added that some of the discussion about taking the territory by force has been ''misconstrued.''

Other Republican senators have openly opposed acquiring Greenland, whether by purchase or by force. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she hates ''the rhetoric around either acquiring Greenland by purchase or by force.''

''I think that it is very, very unsettling,'' she said.

Leavitt says crew of sanctioned oil tanker may be ‘subject to prosecution'

The press secretary said the crew of a merchant vessel seized earlier Wednesday would be ''brought to the United States for such prosecution if necessary,'' citing the presence of a ''judicial seizure order'' in place.

U.S. European Command earlier Wednesday announced the seizure of the Bella 1 for ''violations of U.S. sanctions.'' A Coast Guard cutter had pursued the tanker into the waters between Scotland and Iceland after it tried to avoid being ensnared by the U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.

Rubio said he'll meet with Danish officials next week to talk about Greenland

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Wednesday that he'll meet with officials in Denmark next week regarding President Donald Trump's desire to acquire Greenland.

Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally that has rejected Trump's overtures. Greenland's own government also opposes U.S. designs on the island, saying the people of Greenland will decide their own future.

Rubio said Trump has always intended to buy Greenland. Rubio declined to talk possible military intervention, but said the U.S. always retains the option when it comes to defending its national security interests.

White House says the U.S. is running Venezuela ‘in close correspondence' with that country's interim leaders

During her briefing with reporters, Leavitt said, ''The Trump administration -- led by Secretary Rubio, the vice president and the president's entire national security team -- is in close correspondence with the interim authorities in Venezuela.''

She added that those ''interim authorities agreed to release'' seized oil to the U.S.

Rubio tells reporters Trump always intended to buy Greenland

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Wednesday morning that President Donald Trump's intention was always to buy Greenland

''That's always been the president's intent from the very beginning,'' Rubio said. ''He said it very early on. I mean this is not new. He talked about it in his first term. And he's not the first U.S. president that has examined or looked at how we could acquire Greenland.''

Rubio did not directly answer a question about whether the Trump administration is willing to risk the NATO alliance by potentially moving ahead with a military option regarding Greenland. Rubio said every president retains the option to address national security threats to the United States through military means.

Hegseth defends oil tanker seizures

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells reporters that the ''leverage'' of seizing sanctioned or stateless oil tankers out of Venezuela will continue.

''Our military is prepared to continue this,'' Hegseth said. ''The president when he speaks, he means it. He's not messing around. We are an administration of action to advance our interests, and that is on full display.''

The comments came after Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed lawmakers about the U.S.'s recent military action in Venezuela.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a select group of lawmakers that it was the Trump administration's intention to eventually purchase Greenland, rather than through military force.

The remarks were made in a classified briefing Monday evening on Capitol Hill, according to a person with knowledge of his comments who was granted anonymity because it was a private discussion.

Rubio was again at the Capitol on Wednesday to brief the entire Senate and House, where questions from lawmakers centered not just on the administration's operation to capture Maduro but also Trump's future intentions for Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Oz says alcohol lets people ‘bond and socialize'

Calling alcohol a ''social lubricant,'' Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was asked about the removal of specific daily drink amounts from the guidelines.

''There is alcohol on these dietary guidelines, but the implication is don't have it for breakfast,'' he said.

The new guidelines removed specific recommendations about daily alcohol limits, instead saying broadly that adults should ''consume less alcohol for better overall health.''

White House press secretary runs through health-related accomplishments

In the first White House news conference since Maduro's arrest, Leavitt touted a number of achievements she said the Trump administration had marked during its first year in office,

Leavitt plugged what she characterized as economic benefit to Americans by following ''incredible deals that the president cut'' on prescription drug prices.

Leavitt said the new guidelines would pertain to all federally funded food services, including for the military and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC.

Federal officials release new dietary guidelines

Americans should eat more whole foods and protein, fewer highly processed foods and less added sugar, according to the latest edition of federal nutrition advice released Wednesday by the Trump administration.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued the 2025-2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which offer updated recommendations for a healthy diet and provide the foundation for federal nutrition programs and policies. They come as Kennedy has for months stressed overhauling the U.S. food supply as part of his Make America Healthy Again agenda.

''Our message is clear: Eat real food,'' Kennedy told reporters at a White House briefing.

''One of the current hawks of the US President speaks without hesitation about an international order based on military force and power, which reminds us of the worst years of plunder through war,'' Bruno Rodríguez wrote on X.

''They are ready to violate any of the standards and principles of International Law established after centuries of barbarism,'' he added. ''They do so from a position of privileges, jeopardizing the lives of thousands of low-income American youths who would be enlisted in the armed forces and sent to fight anywhere in this planet, thus wasting billions of dollars in wars and military operations, contrary to the electoral promises that took them to the government and betraying their electoral bases.''

Details on the second tanker seized Wednesday

Noem identified the second tanker seized by the U.S. as the Motor Tanker Sophia. A ship named M Sophia is on the U.S. sanctions list for moving illicit cargos of oil from Russia. The ship is currently ''running dark,'' not having transmitted location data since July. Tankers involved in smuggling often turn off their transponders or broadcast inaccurate data to hide their true locations.

Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said his organization had used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document that at least 16 tankers had left the Venezuelan coast since Saturday, after the U.S. captured Maduro. The M Sophia is one of those ships, Madani said, citing a recent photo showing the tanker located in the waters near Jose Terminal, Venezuela's main oil export hub.

The Trump administration is ''selectively'' removing sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to markets worldwide, according to an outline of the policies published Wednesday by the Energy Department.

The oil sales are slated to begin immediately with the sale of 30 million to 50 million barrels from the South American country, and ''will continue indefinitely,'' the outline says.

Proceeds will settle in U.S. controlled accounts at ''globally recognized banks'' and then be disbursed to the U.S. and Venezuelan populations at the ''discretion'' of the Trump administration, it says.

Russia demands humane treatment of its citizens on the seized tanker

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it's ''closely following'' reports about U.S. forces boarding the Marinera tanker and that it has information about Russian nationals among the crew.

Separately, senior Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas on Wednesday decried the U.S. action against the tanker as ''blatant piracy'' in an online statement.

Florida senator says he talked with Venezuelan opposition leader

''I talked to Maria Machado yesterday,'' Republican Rick Scott told reporters on Capitol Hill. ''I think what they're trying to do is make sure there is a transition that doesn't end up in, bloodshed. And so I think we'll get to, a free and fair elections. But in the meantime, (Venezuela's interim president) Delcy Rodriguez is either going to cooperate or she's going to end up in prison or something else.''

As for seizing oil tankers, Scott said he's all for it: ''Presidents and presidents and presidents have allowed our own backdoor to be taken over by Russians and Chinese and North Koreans, and there is Hezbollah in Iran. And finally, we have a president that gives a damn. So he's going to use the power he's got.''

Britain's military supported the tanker seizure in the North Atlantic

Defense Secretary John Healey said the seizure of the Bella 1 — reflagged as Russian and renamed the Marinera — was part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions-busting.

''This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fueling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine,'' he said. ''The U.K. will continue to step up our action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability — making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.''

Early last year, few thought it likely Trump would pursue Greenland

A separate poll from the Pew Research Center conducted in March found that 54% of Americans were opposed to the U.S. taking over Greenland. Only about one-quarter were in favor, and a similar share did not have an opinion.

Relatively few people thought Trump was serious about pushing for a takeover of Greenland at that point, according to the Pew poll. Only 23% said it was ''extremely'' or ''very'' likely that he would pursue taking over the territory. About 3 in 10 said it was ''somewhat'' likely, and one-third said ''not too likely'' or ''not at all likely.''

Despite Trump's assertions that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security, polling conducted last year suggests that taking over the Danish territory would not be popular among Americans.

About 7 in 10 U.S. adults said they would oppose the U.S. taking control of Greenland, despite Trump's insistence that it's necessary, according to a Marquette/SRSS poll from May. Republicans were split on whether the U.S. should take control of the Arctic island when told that Trump believed it was necessary: Roughly half were in favor and about half were opposed.

After Greenland push, Trump bristles at NATO criticism

NATO leaders have criticized Trump's pursuit of Greenland — with Denmark warning a takeover of its territory could spell the end of the NATO alliance.

In a defensive social media post, Trump suggested NATO ''won't be there for us'' if needed. He did not note that the only time in history that NATO invoked its collective defense clause was to support the U.S., after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

But Trump said, ''We will always be there for NATO, even if they won't be there for us.''

President Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico keeps supplying Cuba with oil

''Mexico has become an important supplier'' of oil to Cuba in the wake of the U.S. attack on Venezuela, Sheinbaum said Wednesday, but she noted that ''no more oil is being sent than has been sent historically; there is no particular shipment.''

After widespread protests in Cuba in 2021, Mexico sent one of its largest humanitarian aid shipments, which included 100,000 barrels of fuel. And in October 2024, it sent more than 400,000 barrels in just a few days following serious blackouts in Cuba, according to data provided at the time by Jorge Piñón of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, which tracks shipments using oil tracking services and satellite technology.

Piñón said Mexico had been supplying Cuba with 22,000 barrels of oil per day after that, but shipments dropped to 7,000 barrels after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Mexico City in September 2025.

Russia's Ministry of Transport said in a statement Wednesday that U.S. Navy forces boarded the Marinera tanker ''outside the territorial waters of any state,'' and that ''contact with the vessel was lost.''

On Dec. 24, 2025, the vessel ''received a temporary permit to fly the Russian Federation flag, issued in accordance with Russian law and international law,'' the ministry said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said before the seizure that it was ''following with concern the anomalous situation that has developed around the Russian oil tanker Marinera.''

Immediately following news of the seizure, the transport ministry statement noted that ''no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states,'' citing the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This oil tanker was empty, tracking data show

It was cruising across the Atlantic nearing the Caribbean on Dec. 15 when it abruptly turned and changed its heading north, toward Europe. The change in direction came days after the U.S. seized another sanctioned tanker, the Skipper, on Dec. 10 after it had left Venezuela carrying a cargo of oil.

The Marinera's past location signals show it stopped in the Iranian port of Shahid Rajaee in March and then remained at anchor near the entrance to the Persian Gulf until November, when it set off through the Suez Canal and headed west.

The ship is part of a large ''shadow fleet'' of sanctioned vessels that carry oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in defiance of Western sanctions, mostly to customers in Asia.

Russia said the tanker was ‘our vessel'

Russia's Foreign Ministry said before the seizure that it was ''following with concern the anomalous situation that has developed around the Russian oil tanker Marinera.''

On Wednesday, open-source maritime tracking sites showed its position as between Scotland and Iceland, traveling north. The U.S. official also confirmed the ship was in the North Atlantic.

US military command confirms seizure of tanker

In a post to social media, the U.S. European Command confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro tracked the ship ahead of its seizure ''pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court.''

The military command went on to say that the seizure supported Trump's proclamation on targeting sanctioned vessels that ''threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.''

US forces board Venezuela-linked sanctioned oil tanker in North Atlantic