U.S. Intercepts Fifth Sanctioned Oil Tanker

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said the U.S. military boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday. targets sanctioned tankers He has been traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a broader effort to seize control of the South American country’s oil.

The pre-dawn raid was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, part of the larger force the United States has built up in the Caribbean in recent months, according to U.S. Southern Command, which announced the capture of the tanker Olina and declared it “not a safe haven for criminals.” The Coast Guard later took control of the ship, officials said.

Southern Command and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted unclassified footage on social media Friday morning of a U.S. helicopter landing on the ship and U.S. personnel searching the deck throwing what appeared to be an explosive device in front of a door leading to the interior of the ship.

In her post, Noem said the ship was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and that it left Venezuela “in an attempt to evade US forces.”

The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to control production, refining and oil. Global distribution of Venezuela’s petroleum products After the US impeached President Nicolás Maduro surprise night raid.

In a post on the social media network later in the day, Trump said the seizure was carried out “in coordination with the Venezuelan Interim Authorities” but did not provide any details.

Both the White House and the Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to questions about further details.

Samir Madani, co-founder TankerTrackers.comHe said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photographs to document that at least 16 tankers had left Venezuelan shores in violation of a quarantine that U.S. forces had established to prevent sanctioned ships from trading. Olina was also among that fleet.

U.S. government records show Olina was sanctioned for transporting Russian oil under its former name, Minerva M, and is Panama-flagged.

Although records show Olina is currently flying the flag of East Timor, it is listed as a false flag in the international maritime registry, meaning the registration he claims is not valid. In July the ship’s ownership and management was changed to a company registered in Hong Kong.

According to ship tracking databases, the Olina last transmitted its location in November in the Caribbean, north of the Venezuelan coast. However, since then the ship has been operating in darkness as the location beacon is turned off.

Although Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law, other Trump administration officials have made clear that they see it as a way to generate cash as Venezuela tries to rebuild its battered oil industry and revive its economy.

In a post on social media in the early hours of the morning, Trump said that the United States and Venezuela are “working well together, especially on rebuilding their oil and gas infrastructure in a much bigger, better and more modern way.”

The administration has said it expects to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, with the proceeds going to both the United States and the Venezuelan people. However, the president expects this arrangement to continue indefinitely. HE We met on Friday He met with executives from 17 oil companies to discuss Venezuela’s goal of investing $100 billion to restore and improve oil production and distribution.

Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News this week that the United States can “control” Venezuela’s “wallets” by dictating where oil can be sold.

Madani estimates Olina is filled with 707,000 barrels of oil; This oil would be worth more than $42 million at the current market price of about $60 per barrel.

Associated Press writers Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Josh Boak in Washington contributed reporting.