Overview
- U.S. Coast Guard and special-operations units seized the Bella 1/Marinera in the North Atlantic under a U.S. federal court warrant, with RAF surveillance support reported by the U.K.
- A second vessel, the Sophia, was taken in the Caribbean and escorted to the United States as Washington targets a sanctions-busting “shadow fleet.”
- President Trump and senior officials say negotiations will transfer 30–50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to U.S. control, with revenues placed under U.S.-managed oversight.
- Russia and China protested the seizures; Moscow deployed naval assets that had shadowed the Marinera, while the White House said the crew could face U.S. legal proceedings.
- On Greenland, Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans meetings in Copenhagen and Nuuk on a potential purchase or a Compact‑style association, as European leaders back Denmark’s role and Copenhagen moves to bolster its Arctic defense.