US EditionU.S. Forces Board Fifth Tanker in Campaign to Track Down Venezuelan Oil
U.S. forces seized the Olina tanker in a pre-dawn Caribbean operation, marking the fifth interdiction targeting Venezuela-linked vessels using deceptive practices, officials said.
- On January 9, 2026, U.S. Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford and boarded the Motor/Tanker Olina in a pre-dawn operation in the Caribbean Sea near Trinidad.
- As Washington seeks to choke off Venezuelan crude, officials have intensified the U.S. blockade on sanctioned tankers to enforce sanctions following the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro.
- U.S. Southern Command said Marines, Sailors, and a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment launched from the Gerald R. Ford and boarded the Olina, with footage showing troops inserted from a helicopter, and declared `Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: 'there is no safe haven for criminals,'` on Friday.
- A group of U.N. experts said the U.S. lacked authority to enforce unilateral sanctions via armed blockade, while Russia decried the seizure as a `gross violation` of maritime law.
- The Olina was reportedly falsely flying a Timor-Leste flag as part of a 'ghost fleet'; President Donald Trump cited control of 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, while maritime expert Scott Dickerson warned of retaliation risks.
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U.S. forces boarded another oil tanker on Friday in the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. Army reported, at a time when President Donald Trump's government continues to target sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a broader effort to take control of the South American country's oil.
The United States announced on Friday that it had seized an oil tanker sailing from Venezuela, the fifth such vessel it has detained in recent weeks for allegedly attempting to violate Washington's embargo on Caracas' crude oil exports.
U.S. Coast Guard have made themselves this Friday with control of the oil tanker 'Olina' in the waters of the...
US Seizes a Fifth Oil Tanker: 'No Safe Haven for Criminals'
US forces have quietly expanded their hunt for sanctioned Venezuelan oil , boarding a fifth tanker early Friday as part of a growing maritime crackdown with global implications. US officials say the latest target is the Olina, an East Timor-flagged ship previously known as the Minerva M and under US sanctions...
U.S. forces boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, while the Trump administration continues to attack sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. The action, carried out before dawn, was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors from the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, part of the extensive force that the U.S. has deployed in the Caribbean in recent months, according to U.S. Southern Com…
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