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In another dire escalation, the U.S. has reported the seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the northern Atlantic Ocean that the military has been pursuing for weeks, citing ties to Venezuela and the Trump administration’s illegal blockade of that country.

The Pentagon’s European Command announced the operation on Wednesday morning, and Russian media also reported that the vessel had been boarded by U.S. forces. European Command said that the vessel was violating the U.S.’s sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports, which legal experts have repeatedly said are illegal under international law.

The tanker, originally known as the Bella-1 and renamed to the Marinera, was sailing under the Russian flag and was being escorted by at........

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