Russia responds with demands after US seized Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela

Russia has issued a strong response to the seizure of an oil tanker by the US.

The ship, called The Marinera, had passed through a US-sanctioned blockade which was aimed at preventing access to Venezuela.

This had been put in place as part of a broader campaign by the US against Venezuela, which escalated significantly when the US bombed the Venezuelan capital Caracas and detained President Nicolás Maduro.

While many have celebrated the departure of Maduro, US actions have been widely condemned as undermining international law by carrying out the act of aggression without approval from the UN security council.

Now, the situation has become even more tense after the oil tanker was stopped, and Russia has now issued an official response to the situation.

The Marinera tanker was seized (Arjan Elmendorp/Getty Images)

Russia's Transport Ministry said in a statement: "In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states."

The ministry added that contact with the vessel had also been lost.

In addition to the statement from the Transport Ministry, Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas posted a message on Telegram accusing the US of 'piracy'.

He wrote: "After a 'law enforcement operation' that killed several dozen people in Venezuela, the US has engaged in outright piracy on the high seas."

It comes after the US captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro (Trust Social/@realDonaldTrump)

Russia has also called for the sailors on the vessel to not be mistreated and for them to be returned home, but the US has vowed to prosecute them.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press briefing today (January 7): "This was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that has transported sanctioned oil. The vessel was deemed stateless after flying a false flag, and it had a judicial seizure order, and that’s why the crew will be subject to prosecution.”

The US also announced the seizure of a second tanker, M/T Sophia, which it described as 'a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker... operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea'.

Maduro is accused of 'narco-terrorism' conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserves in the world, which critics have accused the US of coveting.

Maduro in custody in New York City (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

Speaking about Venezuela's oil reserves, Rubio said: “We’re going to sell it in the marketplace, at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting.

"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."

Exactly what will happen next in Venezuela is not clear, and Trump already appears to have snubbed the Venezuelan opposition leader in exile María Corina Machado.

Rubio told reporters: “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. In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country. We are prepared under the right conditions, using the leverage that we have, which includes the fact that they cannot move any oil unless we allow them to move it.”