Pakistan, Jan. 7 -- The United States has seized a Russia-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela after a weeks-long pursuit across the Atlantic. The vessel, formerly known as Bella-1 and now called Marinera, slipped through a US maritime blockade of sanctioned tankers. The US Coast Guard and military carried out the operation in international waters.

US forces tracked the tanker for more than two weeks after it rebuffed earlier boarding attempts off Venezuela. A federal warrant authorized the seizure, as the vessel had been under US sanctions for evading restrictions tied to Venezuelan oil exports.

The tanker's crew changed its name and painted a Russian flag mid-voyage, complicating legal claims and prompting warnings from Moscow. Rus...