The United States has announced the interception of two vessels that were supposedly transporting Venezuelan oil, within the framework of its naval siege on the Caribbean country, which on the 3rd went further with a land assault and the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. One of them was sailing under the Russian flag in the North Atlantic and the United Kingdom participated in its interception, described as “illegal” by Moscow.
The Secretary of Homeland Security of the US Government has said through her Kristi Noem has identified them as the Bella 1 and the Sophia.
“The world’s criminals are on notice. They can flee, but they can’t hide,” Noem said.
Previously, the Reuters news agency reported that the US had boarded the oil tanker south of Iceland that it tried to confiscate in December off the coast of Venezuela, known as Bella 1 and renamed Marinera.
The European Command of the US Army has confirmed through the X social network that it has intercepted the Bella 1 “for violating US sanctions.” The military command has stated that the operation supports President Donald Trump’s policy against “sanctioned ships that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere” (Latin America).
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later reported from Washington that “the crew is subject to prosecution for any violation of federal law and will be brought to the United States for such prosecution, if necessary.”
The seizure of the Bella 1 occurs after Russia sent a submarine and other naval means to accompany the ship, which has been trying for more than two weeks to evade Washington’s blockade of sanctioned ships near Venezuela. The Coast Guard was pursuing the ship, considering it part of a ghost fleet of oil tankers that transport Venezuelan crude oil in a manner considered illegal under US sanctions.
The ship’s crew repelled a US boarding attempt in December and entered the Atlantic. While being chased, the crew painted a Russian flag on the side, changed the name from Bella 1 to Sailor and changed its registration to a Russian one.
Noem denounced this Wednesday that the Bella 1 “has been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull while being pursued, in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice.”
From Russia, the Russian Ministry of Transport has denounced the “illegal interception” of the oil tanker that was sailing under the Russian flag in international waters. According to a statement, cited by the EFE Agency, the ship was “in the open sea and outside the limits of the territorial waters of any country” when it was intercepted by the US Coast Guard and “communication with the ship was lost.”
“In accordance with the rules of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the regime of freedom of navigation governs international waters and no State has the right to use force against ships duly registered in the jurisdictions of other States,” the statement adds.
For his part, the US Secretary of Defense, Peter Hegseth, has stated in
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the country participated in the US operation, at the request of Washington. British armed forces provided “planned operational support, including the establishment of bases,” according to a statement, which specifies that a military ship provided support to US forces pursuing the tanker and the Royal Air Force provided aerial surveillance support.
Source: www.eldiario.es
