U.S. military seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker and second ship, both linked to Venezuela

U.S. forces seized two oil tankers tied to Venezuela on Wednesday — one in the North Atlantic and another in the Caribbean — escalating Washington’s global effort to enforce sanctions and block what officials describe as illicit oil shipments connected to Venezuela’s shadow fleet. One of the vessels, the Russian-flagged Marinera, formerly known as the M/V Bella 1, was taken into custody in the North Atlantic after weeks of pursuit. U.S. European Command said the tanker was seized under a federal court warrant for violating U.S. sanctions and transporting Iranian oil.  “The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic