U.S. forces have seized a fifth oil tanker in the Caribbean as Washington continues efforts to control Venezuelan oil exports, officials said.
“This morning our joint forces once again sent a clear message that there is no safe haven for criminals,” U.S. Southern Command said.
On Friday morning, the
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Olina was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker suspected of transporting embargoed oil” and was “seized after leaving Venezuela in an attempt to evade U.S. forces.”
Noem posted a video online showing troops dropping from helicopters onto the ship.
The oil tanker Olina is on sanctions lists from several countries and is the fifth vessel seized by the United States in recent weeks.
Marine risk firm Vanguard Tech said the ship was attempting to breach a U.S. naval blockade in the Caribbean.
The vessel’s locator was last activated 52 days ago northeast of Curaçao, it said, adding: “This seizure follows a prolonged tracking of a tanker involved in the transport of sanctioned Venezuelan oil in the region.”
Earlier this week, the United States said it had seized two other oil tankers linked to Venezuela’s oil exports in a “serial” operation in the North Atlantic and Caribbean.
One of them, the Russian-flagged Marinera, was captured with the help of the British Royal Navy, which provided logistical support by air and sea.
Marinera is said to be part of a secret fleet transporting oil to Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
U.S. authorities claimed the second tanker, the M/T Sophia, was “engaging in illegal activities.”
The move comes as the United States seeks to block most Venezuelan crude oil exports and comes just days after U.S. special forces stormed and seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s residence in Caracas.
President Donald Trump said Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, would “give back” up to 50 million barrels of oil worth about $2.8 billion (£2.1 billion) to the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the oil would be sold “in the market at market prices” and that the United States would control how the proceeds were distributed “in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people.”
