United States forces seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela in back-to-back pre-dawn actions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean on Wednesday, January 7, according to U.S. Secretary of State Kristi Noem. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro, which is based in Alameda, chased the Bella I tanker “across the high seas and through treacherous storms,” Noem announced in a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday morning, January 7. The U.S. European Command first announced the seizure of Bella I for “violations of U.S. sanctions” in a social media post. The U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela, according to the Associated Press. His lawyer said he expects to contest the legality of his “military abduction,” according to a San Jose Mercury News report.

Source: The Guardian January 09, 2026 03:48 UTC