{"id":104282,"date":"2026-01-07T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=104282"},"modified":"2026-01-07T12:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:04:41","slug":"us-seizes-two-oil-tankers-linked-to-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/us-seizes-two-oil-tankers-linked-to-venezuela\/104282\/","title":{"rendered":"US seizes two oil tankers linked to Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The United States has confirmed that it seized two oil tankers in the sea. Both ships were linked to Venezuela and were under international sanctions. The action took place in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

One of the ships was earlier known as Bella 1. It was flying the Russian flag at the time. Later, it changed its name to Marinera. US officials said the ship tried to escape after leaving Venezuela. It even changed its identity while being chased.<\/p>\n

The second tanker was called M Sophia. It was flying the Panama flag. US authorities described it as a dark fleet vessel. This means it was trying to operate quietly to avoid being tracked. It was also under sanctions.<\/p>\n

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said both ships were either coming from Venezuela or heading there. She shared this information on social media.<\/p>\n

The United Kingdom helped the US in stopping Bella 1. The UK military provided support after the US asked for help. British naval forces helped track the ship at sea. The UK air force also monitored the tanker from the sky.<\/p>\n

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said this operation was part of a larger global effort. He said the aim was to stop countries and groups from breaking sanctions. He added that such actions help prevent money from being used to fund conflict and violence.<\/p>\n

Kristi Noem explained why the US acted. She said the Coast Guard boarded both ships in a carefully planned operation. She said Bella 1 had been avoiding authorities for weeks. The ship even repainted its name and changed its flag to escape.<\/p>\n

She praised the US Coast Guard crew. She said they followed the ship through rough weather and dangerous seas. She called their work brave and dedicated.<\/p>\n

Noem also issued a strong warning. She said criminals around the world should take notice. She said the US will continue to track and stop illegal activities at sea. She added that the goal is to protect the country and cut off money used for crime and terrorism.<\/p>\n

The US has made it clear that it plans to stay firm. Officials say such operations will continue wherever sanctions are being broken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States has confirmed that it seized two oil tankers in the sea. Both ships were linked to Venezuela\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":104283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[6522,33979,776,901],"class_list":["post-104282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-oil-tankers","tag-top-stories","tag-us","tag-venezuela"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}