U.S. forces seize 5th oil tanker linked to Venezuela

A fifth oil tanker linked to Venezuela was interdicted by U.S. forces in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command confirmed on Friday.

Two U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that the Coast Guard, supported by the Navy, was in the process of seizing the Olina oil tanker.

Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier for the pre-dawn operation to support the Department of Homeland Security as part of “its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.”

The command posted unclassified footage on social media of a U.S. helicopter landing on the vessel and U.S. personnel searching the deck.

“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘there is no safe haven for criminals,'” U.S. Southern Command said in a statement on X.

The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by President Trump’s administration to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products globally following the U.S. ouster of President Nicolás Maduro.

Two tankers were interdicted on Wednesday— one in the North Atlantic and one in the Caribbean Sea, officials said.

The U.S. European Command confirmed the seizure of the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker formerly known as Bella-1, in the North Atlantic after pursuing it from the coast of South America. U.S. Southern Command announced that the other intercepted vessel, M/T Sophia, was “conducting illicit activities” in international waters in the Caribbean. 

Ships like the Marinera are part of a so-called shadow fleet of ships that illegally transport oil from sanctioned nations like Russia, Iran and Venezuela. 

Maduro has rejected U.S. allegations about how the vessels are being used and accuses the U.S. of plundering Venezuelan resources under the cover of law enforcement.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who shared a longer video of the seizure on Friday, said the Olina was a “ghost fleet” tanker ship that departed Venezuela, “attempting to evade U.S. forces.”

“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem said on X. “The Coast Guard will seize sanctioned oil tankers, enforce U.S. and international law, and eliminate these funding streams for illicit activity including narco-terrorism.”