Venezuela Holds U.S. Vessel And Crew On Suspicion Of Arms Trafficking

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Forbes:

 

 

 

 

 

Venezuela Holds U.S. Vessel And Crew On Suspicion Of Arms Trafficking

 

Christopher Helman, Forbes Staff

9/06/2012 @ 3:55PM

 

Updated 5 pm.

The Venezuelan government has seized a U.S. flagged ship and detained its captain for more than a week. The ship Ocean Atlas has been at port in Maracaibo, Venezuela since August 29. After four hours in port, the ship was boarded by armed security personel, and the captain was detained on suspicion of trafficking in arms or drugs. The rest of the crew of 15 Americans has remained on board under guard. According to a well-placed source arrest warrants have been issued for all of the crewmembers, who are to be taken off the ship for questioning.

Jeff Bercovici has been in touch over email with one of the crewmen, Russell Macomber, who has managed to post updates to his Facebook account while under detention. In a sardonic tone, he even relayed that when Venezuelan authorities raided the Ocean Atlas they stole cartons of cigarettes, ate the crew’s ice cream and let their dogs defecate on the deck. Macomber writes that