Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
BBC verify has been investigating the US Coast Guard’s “active pursuit” of a vessel believed to be the Bella 1 in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. The tanker sent a distress call as it sailed northeast from the Caribbean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. authorities have seized two oil tankers this month, including one on Saturday.
The Trump administration has increasingly focused on Venezuela in recent months, accusing it of “stealing” oil and using oil revenue to fund criminal activity. Venezuela denies the accusations and calls the illegal seizure of the U.S. tanker “an act of international piracy.”
BBC Analysis Editor Ros Atkins provides more information.
Produced by Catalina Carrelli and Tom Joyner. Joshua Cheatham verified. Drawing by Mesut Ersoz.
