Trump vs Maduro tensions escalate as US launches bid to seize third tanker oil linked to Venezuela

The United States is “in active pursuit” of a Venezuelan‑linked oil tanker already under sanctions, marking the third such vessel Washington has moved against in under two weeks as it tightens a maritime pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro’s government. U.S. officials say the Coast Guard tracked the crude carrier Bella 1 in the Caribbean, using imagery and ship‑tracking data to identify it by its deck layout, cranes and hull design, and describe it as part of a “dark fleet” involved in Venezuela’s “illegal sanctions evasion” while “flying a false flag” and operating under a judicial seizure order.