US swoop on tanker is backed by Scottish Secretary

THE Scottish Secretary has backed the dramatic seizure of a suspected embargo-busting Venezuelan oil tanker by US special forces off the coast of Scotland.

- BY RICHARD ELIAS

Douglas Alexander was speaking as more details of the operation to capture the “Marinera” in the North Sea on Wednesday were revealed.

It was the third vessel detained in international waters in a matter of weeks after the US launched military operations against Venezuela. It claims Venezuela smuggles crude to various so-called “terror states”, including Russia and Iran in contravention of an US embargo.