US Forces Seize Second Venezuela-Linked Oil Tanker In Caribbean Sea | WATCH

Washington: U.S. forces have seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela in consecutive actions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The U.S. European Command announced the seizure of the cargo ship Bella 1 for “violations of U.S. sanctions” in a social media post. The United States had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it attempted to evade a U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil tankers around Venezuela.

Later, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed in a social media post that U.S. forces had also taken control of the Sophia oil tanker in the Caribbean. Noem said both ships “either last docked in Venezuela or were en route there.”

Noem said both ships are part of a large “ghost fleet” of sanctioned vessels transporting oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in defiance of Western sanctions, mainly to customers in Asia.

The seizure of the two ships comes just days after U.S. military forces conducted a surprise nighttime raid in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, capturing then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, whom the administration of President Donald Trump has accused of associating with drug traffickers.

Following that operation, officials in the Republican Trump administration have vowed to continue seizing sanctioned vessels connected to the country.

“We are enforcing U.S. law regarding oil sanctions,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC Sunday. “We go to court, we get an order, we seize those ships with oil. And that will continue.”

The U.S. military took control of the Bella 1 and turned it over to law enforcement, a U.S. official said, speaking to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

The ship was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

It was crossing the Atlantic near the Caribbean on December 15 when it abruptly changed course northward, heading for Europe. The change of direction came days after the first seizure by a U.S. oil tanker of a ship called the Skipper, on December 10, after it had departed Venezuela carrying a cargo of oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to board the vessel in the Caribbean in December as it headed toward Venezuela. The ship refused to be boarded and sailed across the Atlantic. In a social media post, U.S. European Command confirmed that the Coast Guard cutter Munro tracked the vessel before its seizure “pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court.”

During this time, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and registered under the Russian flag, according to shipping databases. The U.S. official also confirmed that the ship's crew had painted a Russian flag on the side of the hull.

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

Flight-tracking websites showed several U.S. special operations U-28A aircraft landing at Wick John O'Groats Airport in the far north of Scotland, before flying further north toward Iceland on Wednesday. P-8 Poseidon submarine chasers and KC-135 tanker aircraft were also seen heading to the area near the tanker.

The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated before the seizure that it was “following with concern the anomalous situation that has developed around the Russian tanker Marinera.”

Immediately after the news of the seizure, the Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed the boarding in a statement and noted that “no State has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other States,” citing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Maduro appeared in court this week in New York, where he protested his arrest and pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges. Maduro's lawyer warned that he will challenge the legality of the “military kidnapping.”

Also Read- US Forces Seize Venezuela-Linked, Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker After Week-Long Pursuit