US seizes two oil tankers linked to Venezuela

The US had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has also revealed that US forces took control of the tanker Sophia in the Caribbean in a social media post.

Noem said both ships were "either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it".

Noem said that both ships are part of a large "ghost fleet" of sanctioned vessels that carry oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in defiance of sanctions, mostly to customers in Asia.

The US administration is "selectively" removing sanctions to enable the shipping and sale of Venezuelan oil to markets worldwide, according to an outline of the policies published on Wednesday by the Energy Department.

The oil sales are slated to begin immediately with the sale of 30 million to 50 million barrels from Venezuela.

The US government said the sales "will continue indefinitely" with the proceeds settling in US-controlled accounts at "globally recognised banks".

The money would then be disbursed to the US and Venezuelan populations at the "discretion" of US President Donald Trump's government.

The two ship seizures come just days after US military forces conducted a surprise raid on Venezuela's capital of Caracas and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, whom US officials have accused of partnering with drug traffickers.

Since that raid, officials in the US administration have said that they intend to continue to seize sanctioned vessels connected to the country.

"We are enforcing American laws with regards to oil sanctions," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC on Sunday.

"We go to court. We get a warrant. We seize those boats with oil. And that will continue."

The US military seized the Bella 1 and subsequently handed over control of it to law enforcement officials, said a US official, who spoke to the Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The US Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela. 

The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic.

During this time, the Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show. 

The US 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 as between Scotland and Iceland, travelling north. 

The US official also confirmed the ship was in the North Atlantic.