India, Jan. 8 -- The U.S. has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela after a more than two-week pursuit across the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel, seized in an attempt to choke Venezuelan trade, marks the first time the US has seized a Russian asset.

Formerly named Bella 1, Marinera was intercepted in the North Atlantic near Iceland after evading multiple U.S. Coast Guard attempts to board it in the Caribbean and Venezuelan waters since December 2025, officials said.

The Coast Guard and U.S. military conducted the operation on Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters. After initially assisting in the tanker's security, U.S. special troops abandoned the ship, which was now under Coast Guard jurisdictio...