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 Homeland Security, 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 heroic crew of the USCGC Munro pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms— keeping diligent watch, and protecting our country with the determination and patriotism that make Americans proud,” Noem stated. “These brave men and women deserve our nation’s thanks for their selfless devotion to duty.”
The Monro followed Bella 1 into waters between Iceland and the United Kingdom before U.S. personnel finally boarded and seized it in international waters, according to a KTVU News report. The military handed control of the vessel to law enforcement officials after the seizure, a U.S. official told the Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
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.
Noem said that both tankers—the Bella I and the Sophia—are part of a “ghost fleet” of ships that carry oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela in defiance of Western sanctions. The U.S. government said the tanker was sanctioned in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the militant group Hezbollah and has ties to Venezuela, the KTVU report stated.
The two ship seizures came just days after U.S. military forces conducted a surprise nighttime raid on Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and captured then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, whom President Donald Trump’s administration has accused of partnering with drug traffickers.
Maduro appeared in court this week in New York, where he protested his capture and pleaded not guilty to the federal drug trafficking charges. His lawyer said he expects to contest the legality of his “military abduction,” according to a San Jose Mercury News report.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article attributed an incorrect title to Kristi Noem.
