U.S. seizes Olina tanker in the Caribbean

The United States has seized another tanker, two U.S. officials told NBC News on Friday, as it works to control the flow of oil to and from Venezuela.

The Olina was seized overnight in the Caribbean Sea, an operation conducted by the Coast Guard and Joint Task Force Southern Spear.

It’s the latest such enforcement action, days after the U.S. seizure of the Bella 1, a Russian-flagged “shadow fleet” tanker that fled the American blockade and led a weekslong chase. The U.S. also announced the seizure Wednesday of another sanctioned tanker, the Sophia, which it said was “conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea.”

The Kremlin on Friday thanked Washington, saying the U.S. had agreed to release two of the Bella 1’s Russian crew members, while President Donald Trump confirmed that Moscow had sent naval assets to try to protect the ship.

“In response to our appeal, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to release two Russian citizens from among the crew of the tanker Marinera, who had previously been detained by the American side during an operation in the North Atlantic,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram.

“We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the U.S. leadership,” Zakharova said.

There was no immediate response to the statement from the U.S.

The Bella 1 was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation that defied Russian warnings. The ship, suspected to be part of the “shadow fleet” fueling Russia’s war-time economy in circumvention of international sanctions, changed its name to the Marinera and hoisted a Russian flag after escaping the U.S. blockade of Venezuela last month.

In an interview with Fox News late Thursday, Trump said that Moscow had sent a submarine and a destroyer to guard the ship, both of which “left very quickly when we arrived.”

“They decided not to mess around with us,” Trump added.

He evaded a question about whether Putin had called him following the seizure. “I don’t want to say that,” Trump said.