intercepts

U.S. forces “apprehended” an oil tanker off Venezuela early Wednesday, the latest move in a stepped-up pressure campaign against Caracas that has increasingly played out at sea. It was the second tanker interdicted in two weeks and follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade targeting “sanctioned oil vessels” heading to and leaving Venezuela. “In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in…

Israeli navy intercepts international aid flotilla en route to Gaza; Greta Thunberg among those taken to port Israeli forces boarded and detained vessels from a high-profile international flotilla attempting to reach Gaza on Saturday, seizing 39 boats, according to the organizers, and leaving only one ship still underway. Live-feed footage verified by Reuters showed soldiers in helmets and night-vision goggles climbing onto decks as passengers — some wearing life vests and huddling with their hands raised — were taken into…