US seizing Venezuela-linked oil tanker after weeks-long pursuit

US Coast Guard and military involved in high-seas operation

US forces abseil onto an oil tanker during a raid off the coast of Venezuela on December 10 2025 in this image from video. (Picture: US attorney-general's office/Reuters)

The US is attempting to seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker after a more than two-week pursuit across the Atlantic, a US official said on Wednesday.

The seizure, which could stoke tensions with Russia, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a US maritime “blockade” of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation is being carried out by the Coast Guard and US military.

TimesLIVE


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