(Handout/US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP) The United States "apprehended" an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas deemed a "theft and kidnapping," in the latest salvo of a pressure campaign by Washington, the ...

A mass departure by sanctioned tankers, some switching to Russian flags, has triggered a fresh effort by the United States to pursue Venezuelan oil shipments at sea.

The U.S. seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker -- formerly known as the Bella-1 -- which has been linked to Venezuela and was transiting the North Atlantic, according to three sources familiar with the operation. And it also seized another tanker, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

(Handout/US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP) The US Coast Guard was pursuing another allegedly sanctioned tanker on Sunday, a US official told AFP, as Washington ramps up its pressure campaign targeting Venezuela's vital oil sector.

After the U.S. seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan crude oil, the shadowy fleet of "ghost ships" used to evade sanctions drifted squarely into President Donald Trump's crosshairs. On Dec. 10, Trump announced the seizure of the "Skipper," a vessel that ...

The US has seized two Russian-linked oil tankers in the North Atlantic and Caribbean, as part of an intensified campaign to crack down on vessels accused of violating sanctions and evading maritime restrictions.

In a further escalation of tension between the United States and Venezuela, President Donald Trump has ordered a naval blockade to stop sanctioned oil tankers from entering and leaving the South American country. Venezuela - which has the world's largest ...