US also selectively removing sanctions to enable oil sales; vessel Bella 1 was sanctioned by US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for company linked to Lebanese terror group

WASHINGTON - The United States says it has seized two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil exports in "back-to-back" operations in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. US forces boarded the Russian-flagged Marinera after a pursuit lasting almost two weeks and as it travelled through the waters between Iceland and Scotland. The British Navy gave logistical support by air and sea. A second tanker - the M/T Sophia - was accused by the US of "conducting illicit activities" and boarded in the Caribbean. The moves come as the US seeks to choke off most exports of Venezuelan crude oil, and just days after its special forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a lighting raid on his residence in Caracas. Moscow has denounced the seizure of the tanker sailing under its flag, and demanded that the US treat Russians on board properly and permits them to return to Russia quickly. The transport ministry said it had given the vessel "temporary permission" to use the Russian flag, adding that no state had the right to…