The United States on Wednesday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it from off the coast of Venezuela, in an operation set to ratchet up tensions with Moscow. US officials say the tanker is part of a so-called shadow fleet that carries oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions. The ship had thwarted an earlier attempt to board it last month near Venezuela, where a US raid on Saturday toppled the country’s authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro.
“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court,” US European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said in a statement on X. After the operation, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth posted that the US blockade on Venezuelan oil was in full effect “anywhere in the world.” Shortly after confirming the successful North Atlantic seizure, the US military announced a second sanctioned tanker ship had been seized in the Caribbean Sea. US special forces at the weekend snatched Maduro and his wife from Caracas and flew them to New York to face trial on drug charges.
Since then, Trump has said that the United States will “run” Venezuela and US companies will control its critical oil industry. The North Atlantic operation came despite Russia sending a submarine to escort the empty tanker, saying the vessel was sailing under the Russian flag and was far from the US coast. “For reasons unclear to us, the Russian vessel is receiving heightened attention from the US and NATO militaries — attention that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status,” Russia’s foreign ministry said, prior to the seizure.
