WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces have boarded a Venezuela-linked sanctioned oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it for weeks, a U.S. official said.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. The official said the U.S. military sized the vessel and handed over control to law enforcement officials.
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.
The ship was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The U.S. 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.
The ship, once known as the Bella 1, was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show.
