BBC Verify has been investigating the US Coast Guard’s “active pursuit” of a ship – believed to be the Bella 1 – in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. The oil tanker issued distress signals while moving northeast from the Caribbean into the Atlantic.
US authorities have already seized two oil tankers this month – one of them on Saturday.
The Trump administration has been increasingly focused on Venezuela in recent months, accusing it of “stealing” oil and using oil revenues to fund criminal activity. Venezuela rejects the accusations, calling the US tanker seizures illegal acts of “international piracy”.
The BBC’s Analysis Editor Ros Atkins has more.
Produced by Katerina Karelli and Tom Joyner. Verification by Joshua Cheetham. Graphics by Mesut Ersoz.
