rewrite this title in other words: US forces seize two oil tankers linked to Venezuela in the North Atlantic and Caribbean, officials say

The US carried out an operation on Wednesday to seize two oil tankers linked to Venezuela – one in the North Atlantic and one in the Caribbean Sea, officials said.

The US European Command has confirmed the capture of the Marinera, an oil tanker linked to Venezuela formerly known as the Bella-1. It said the vessel was seized in violation of US sanctions and a warrant issued by a US federal court after being pursued by the USCGC Munro.

Two Defense Department officials told CBS News Navy SEALs seized the oil tanker. They were flown by service members from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the “Night Stalkers.”

The US has been following the ship since last month, with CBS News first report on Monday that the US military was planning to stop it. The pursuit began during a campaign to oust former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was present captured by US forces last weekend. Two more oil tankers were seized by the US last month.

US officials also announced on Wednesday that a “stateless, unlicensed black tanker” had been seized before dawn in the Caribbean. The US Southern Command said in an X post that the seized vessel, the M/T Sophia, was “engaging in illegal activities” and operating in international waters.

Two US officials told CBS News that Sophia was flying the Cameroonian flag and left Venezuela with the oil. The US has determined that the ship is in violation of its embargo on Venezuela. Officials said the US was in full control of the ship and no US personnel were injured in the operation. The US Coast Guard was escorting the ship to the US “for final disposal,” according to the US Southern Command.

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristin Noem, who posted a video of some of the incidents affecting the public on social media, described the operations as “back-to-back” and “well-coordinated,” adding that the ships had either stopped in Venezuela or were on their way there.

Marinera, formerly known as Bella-1

Marinera – which historically handled Venezuelan crude oil and was chartered by the Ministry of Finance – was sailing under the Russian flag. It was previously flagged outside of Panama. Like other captured tankers, it was sanctioned by US authorities for its previous involvement in the Iranian oil trade.

A Russian submarine and other naval vessels had been sent to escort the vessel as the US pursued it, two US officials confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday.

Noem said the tanker “has been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the ship when it was fired, in a desperate and failed attempt to evade justice.” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt called the ship a Venezuelan ship. “The vessel was deemed stateless after flying a false flag,” he said.

Russia responded to the seizure, with the Ministry of Transport saying in a Telegram statement on Wednesday that the ship “has been granted temporary permission to sail under the State Flag of the Russian Federation, issued in accordance with Russian law and international law norms.”

“In accordance with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of ​​1982, the high seas are governed by the principle of freedom of navigation, and no state has the right to use force against ships legally registered under the jurisdiction of other states,” said the department.

The ministry said the US military boarded the Marinera at 3pm Moscow time on Wednesday and that communication with the ship was lost shortly afterwards.

The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping lists the tanker as being transported out of Sochi, on the western coast of the Black Sea. The New York Times reported that the Russian government has officially asked the US to stop all efforts to intercept the ship.

The two officials familiar with plans to seize the Marinera said earlier this week that the US would rather seize the ship than sink it and that the operation could be similar to the one carried out last month in which US Marines and special forces worked with the US Coast Guard. grabbed SkipperA large crude oil tanker has flagged off Guyana, after the vessel left a port in Venezuela.

Vessels such as the Marinera and The Skipper are part of what is known as a large number of vessels transporting oil illegally to sanctioned countries such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

Maduro dismissed US allegations about how the ships were being used and accused the US of looting Venezuela’s resources under legal cover.

Joanne Stocker, Margaret Brennan, Jennifer Jacobs, Arden Farhi and Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.