U.S. defies Moscow, seizes oil tanker despite Russian submarine escort
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An oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Photo: Margioni Bermudez/AFP via Getty
The U.S. Coast Guard seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday after a cat-and-mouse chase across the Atlantic, despite the vessel being shadowed by a Russian submarine and Moscow publicly opposing its capture.
The big picture: It was one of two seizures early Wednesday morning as part of the enforcement of President Trump's blockade on sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan oil. The capture of the Russian-linked Bella-1 was particularly dramatic given the geopolitical implications.
Driving the news: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Bella-1 had "been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull."
- "The heroic crew of the USCGC Munro pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms," she said.
- The seizure likely took place in the Atlantic off the western coast of Scotland, according to tracking data, thousands of miles from Venezuela.
- Russian vessels including a submarine were in the vicinity of the tanker during the operation, but there were no signs of a military confrontation, per Reuters.
- Moscow had previously said the tanker was "in full compliance with the norms of international maritime law" and was receiving "clearly disproportionate attention."
The U.S. also seized what officials described as a "stateless" tanker, M/T Sophia, in the Caribbean Sea.
- U.S. Southern Command shared a video appearing to show a U.S. force fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the tanker.
- "The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X.
Zoom out: The Trump administration has cited Venezuela's relationships with Russia, China and Iran as one reason for targeting Nicolás Maduro. This is the first major confrontation with one of those foreign rivals since the raid.
- A Chinese envoy met with Maduro hours before the U.S. captured him, and may still have been in Caracas when the bombs began to fall.
- Both China and Russia objected to the anti-Maduro operation but have taken no direct action in response.
The latest: Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. would be taking as many as 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil from Venezuela, worth about $2.5 billion, and would share the profits with Venezuela.
Go deeper: Trump and Rubio's global intimidation campaign
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional context.
