The United States has seized the oil tanker Olina in the Caribbean, marking the fifth vessel captured in recent weeks as Washington intensifies its crackdown on Venezuela’s oil trade and sanctions-evasion networks.
US Southern Command confirmed that joint interagency forces apprehended the tanker without incident early Friday, with full backing from the US Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group, including the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale.
In a statement posted on X, Southern Command said the operation sent a clear message: “There is no safe haven for criminals.”
The USS Iwo Jima (pictured above) backed up the seizure of the Olina tanker (file photo)
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Olina as part of a “ghost fleet” used to evade sanctions, revealing that the tanker had departed Venezuela and attempted to evade US forces while falsely flying the flag of Timor-Leste, reports dw.com
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem said.
According to industry sources cited by Reuters, the vessel left Venezuela last week and was operating under a false flag, a common tactic used by tankers linked to sanctioned oil shipments.
The seizure comes amid an aggressive US campaign to choke off Venezuela’s oil exports following the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro last weekend.
Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has since been installed as interim leader. US President Donald Trump has warned Rodriguez to comply with American demands, while she has signaled openness to renewed energy ties with Washington.
Earlier this week, the US military also seized two Russian-flagged oil tankers in the North Atlantic and Caribbean linked to Venezuela’s oil industry, underscoring what officials describe as a global effort to dismantle sanctions-busting networks involving Russian and Iranian-linked entities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will take Venezuelan oil and sell it on the open market at full market rates, with proceeds placed under US control.
“That money will be handled in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption and not the regime,” Rubio said.
However, the move has triggered sharp criticism from US Democrats. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut accused the Trump administration of “stealing Venezuelan oil at gunpoint” and attempting to micromanage the country.
“The scope and insanity of this is absolutely stunning,” Murphy said after a briefing with Rubio.
The seizure of Olina reinforces Washington’s message that sanctions evasion, false flag operations and illicit oil trafficking will be met with force, as the United States tightens its grip on Venezuela’s energy sector.
