The U.S. Coast Guard seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday after a cat-and-mouse chase across the Atlantic, despite the vessel being shadowed by a Russian submarine and Moscow publicly opposing its capture. The big picture: It was one of two seizures early Wednesday morning as part of the enforcement of President Trump’s blockade on sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan oil. The capture of the Russian-linked Bella-1 was particularly dramatic given the geopolitical implications. Driving the news: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Bella-1 had “been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull.”
U.S. defies Moscow, seizes oil tanker despite Russian submarine escort
