It is reported that American authorities have received an arrest warrant for the vessel. Washington suspects Bella 1 of transporting Iranian oil.
Previously, the ship was included in US sanctions lists.
As the media indicated, Bella 1 was heading for oil to Venezuela and was not carrying cargo.
The US military approached the tanker on the evening of December 20. According to NYT interlocutors, the ship was without a flag and was subject to inspection.
However, the crew of the tanker did not allow it to be boarded and took it further into the voyage. One American official called the incident “active persecution” in a media commentary.
On December 21, the tanker began transmitting distress signals to nearby ships, according to radio messages reviewed by the NYT.
The ship continued to move northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, signals were received almost 500 km from Antigua and Barbuda. By the evening of December 21, Bella 1 had sent more than 75 alarms.
On December 22, American President Donald Trump reported that the United States was continuing to pursue the tanker.
“We are really pursuing him. Because he came from Venezuela. And he was under sanctions,” the US President said at a briefing (the video was published on the White House YouTube).
Earlier, on December 21, Bloomberg reported that the US military allegedly seized the third tanker off the coast of Venezuela – Bella 1.
Context
In 2020, the US Department of Justice charged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and 14 other former and current officials of the country with drug trafficking and corruption. In August 2025, the White House announced its readiness to “use all elements of power” to stop “the flow of drugs into the country,” in particular to concentrate ships and manpower in Venezuela.
Since September, the United States has carried out more than 20 strikes on ships believed to be transporting drugs from Latin America to the United States, CBS News reported Nov. 13. At least 80 people died.
On Nov. 11, the U.S. Navy reported that its largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, had arrived in the Southern Command area of operations, covering much of Latin America and the Caribbean. CNN reported that there are about 15 thousand American troops in the Caribbean region. In response to this, Venezuela announced a “mass mobilization.”
Media reported that on November 12, Trump was provided with plans for possible military operations against Venezuela in the coming days. Two days later, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced the start of the US military operation “Southern Lance”, aimed against narco-terrorists, but did not say which country he was talking about.
On November 27, Trump announced ground operations against Venezuela.
On November 28, The New York Times wrote that Trump had a telephone conversation with Maduro the previous week. He gave him a week to get out of Venezuela, Reuters reported.
On December 1, Trump announced that the United States was closing the skies over Venezuela. On December 17, he announced a complete blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.
