Crew of detained tanker Bella-1, which had Russians on board, will be tried in United States, - White House
The United States plans to prosecute the crew of the Marinera/Bella-1 tanker, which was seized in the North Atlantic while sailing from Venezuela under the Russian flag. Russian citizens were on board.
This was stated by White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt, according to Censor.NET.
The trial of the crew
She recalled that it was a vessel belonging to Venezuela's "shadow fleet" that was transporting oil subject to sanctions.
"As for the vessel, a court order for its arrest has been issued, which also applies to the crew, and therefore the crew is now subject to prosecution for any relevant violations of federal law. If necessary, they will be transported to the United States for prosecution," the White House spokeswoman explained.
Levitt added that the US is "not afraid" of escalating relations with Russia after the seizure of a tanker flying the Russian flag and that US President Trump "will enforce US federal law no matter what."
What preceded it
- Earlier it became known that on January 7, the US seized a tanker flying the Russian flag, Bella-1/Marinera, in the North Atlantic. The tanker was sailing from Venezuela to Russia.
- The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Russian citizens were on board the tanker. They demanded that the US ensure "humane and dignified treatment" of their citizens on the ship, respect their rights and interests, and not prevent the Russians from returning home from the ship as soon as possible.
