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AFP and AP, WASHINGTON and HAVANA
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Russia sent a submarine to escort an empty oil tanker that the US military has been pursuing and attempting to seize for weeks, US media reported on Tuesday.
The US has been chasing the oil tanker, formerly known as the Bella 1, since it evaded a US blockade around Venezuela and thwarted a US Coast Guard attempt to board it last month.
Since being pursued by the US Coast Guard, the vessel has switched its registration to Russia, changed its name to the Marinera and the tanker’s crew reportedly painted a Russian flag on the tanker last month.
A person walks past a mural in Caracas on Tuesday.
Photo: AP
It had been en route to Venezuela, but was not carrying cargo before it evaded the blockade.
US officials said the tanker is part of a shadow fleet carrying oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in contravention of US sanctions.
Tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the tanker nearing Iceland’s exclusive economic zone yesterday.
Russia sent “a submarine and other naval assets” to escort the tanker, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier on Tuesday said that it was “following with concern” the US pursuit.
The ministry told state-run media prior to reports of the escort that the vessel was sailing under the Russian flag and was far from the US coast.
Separately, the names, ranks and ages of 32 Cuban military personnel killed during the capture of deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by US forces were published on Tuesday by the Cuban government.
Among the deceased are colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains, as well as reserve soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 60. The uniformed personnel belonged to the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, it said.
The publication did not specify their missions or exactly how they died.
Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez said that Cubans were “prepared to give their lives” against any US intervention as Havana pondered a future without Maduro as Venezuela’s leader.
“The US president, displaying a complete lack of understanding about Cuba … blasphemes against and threatens our people,” Rodriguez wrote on X. “Our valiant people, true to their history of struggle, will defend their nation against any imperialist aggression.”
