United States forces boarded and seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday following a weeks-long chase on the high seas which has escalated tensions with Moscow and piled further pressure on its ally Venezuela.

As U.S. seizures of oil tankers linked to Venezuela surge, so do concerns in Cuba about whether the island’s government and economy will survive.

Four Venezuelan oil tankers reportedly return to port after operating in "dark mode" as the U.S. seizes vessels amid Trump's push to acquire oil.

The U.S. seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker -- formerly known as the Bella-1 -- which has been linked to Venezuela and was transiting the North Atlantic, according to three sources familiar with the operation. And it also seized another tanker, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the United States had released two Russian crew members from a Russian-flagged oil tanker seized on Wednesday in the Atlantic Ocean.

US forces boarded and seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday after tracking it across the Atlantic for weeks. The aging vessel, originally called the Bella 1, was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for operating in a “shadow fleet” transporting illicit Iranian oil.

Venezuela is said to have the world’s largest oil reserves, but the infrastructure required to tap these resources is dilapidated. After the U.S. captured Maduro last week, Trump said U.S. oil producers were ready to spend $100 billion or more in rebuilding the infrastructure which could deliver the mutual benefits of a prosperous future for the Latin American country and a profitable enterprise for energy firms.