US forces boarded and seized a sanctioned oil tanker Wednesday morning, more than two weeks after it eluded a blockade around Venezuela and was reflagged as a Russian vessel in a failed bid to evade capture.
Military and Coast Guard personnel boarded the ship, formerly known as the Bella 1 and now called the Marinera, in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the British Isles,
US European Command confirmed.
“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” the Stuttgart, Germany-based command said in a statement. “This seizure supports [the president’s] Proclamation targeting sanctioned vessels that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.”
Multiple outlets reported late Tuesday that Russia had dispatched military ships and a submarine to help the vessel reach Moscow’s waters ahead of the American pursuit.
The ship dodged a sweeping US quarantine of vessels transporting oil to and from Venezuela — a blockade President Trump imposed late last year ahead of Saturday’s arrest of the South American country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth proclaimed after the successful seizure.
US officials had been tracking the vessel since a failed attempt to nab it on Dec. 20, 2025, and dispatched AC-130J gunships and P-8 Poseidon “sub-hunter” aircraft to assist with Wednesday’s interception, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Back in 2024, the US had sanctioned the ship for transporting sanctioned Iranian oil and Hezbollah-owned cargo.
In addition to the boarding of the Marinera, the Coast Guard has targeted another Venezuela-linked tanker in a separate operation, Reuters reported.
The attempted seizures follow Operation Absolute Resolve, in which Delta Force soldiers stormed into Caracas and snatched Maduro and his wife from their fortified compound, bringing the Venezuelan strongman to America to face trial on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly indicated that the Trump administration plans to leverage the quarantine around Venezuela to pressure the South American country to comply with its wishes.
“What’s going to happen here is that we have a quarantine on their oil,” Rubio told ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday. “That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met. And that’s what we intend to do.
“That leverage remains. That leverage is ongoing. And we expect that it’s going to lead to results here.”
Trump first announced the oil blockade on Dec. 16, 2025. The president has been keen on tapping into Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, thought to be the largest of any country in the world.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed that the US will be getting more than $1 billion worth of oil from the Venezuelan regime.
“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump crowed on Truth Social.
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!”
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