Delcy Rodríguez got American help with the return of an oil tanker linked to one of her political rivals that had left the country without authorization.
A mass departure by sanctioned tankers, some switching to Russian flags, has triggered a fresh effort by the United States to pursue Venezuelan oil shipments at sea.
The development deepens the confrontation over the tanker formerly known as the Bella 1, which the United States wants to seize but which Russia has sought to protect.
The oil tanker Bella 1 at the Singapore Strait in March. Russia has dispatched at least one naval vessel to meet and escort the tanker, which the U.S. military has been pursuing and trying to seize.