White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt reports that the crew of a seized tanker linked to Venezuela will face trial in the US, UNN reports with reference to Sky News.
Leavitt drew attention to the tanker Marinera, originally known as Bella 1, linked to Venezuela.
The vessel was seized by US forces between Iceland and Scotland this morning.
"The vessel was seized this morning in the North Atlantic under a warrant issued by a US federal court after tracking," she says.
According to the White House spokeswoman, this was a vessel of Venezuela's shadow fleet carrying sanctioned oil, and "the United States of America under this president is not going to tolerate it."
A court order was issued for the arrest of the crew on the vessel, which means that the crew is now subject to prosecution for any violation of federal law, and if necessary, they will be brought to the United States for such prosecution.
Recall
The Wall Street Journal, citing an American official, reported that Russia sent a submarine and other naval forces to escort an empty, rusty oil tanker, which has become a new "hot spot" in relations between the US and Russia.