U.S. Seizes Fifth Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela

The United States seized another oil tanker overnight in the Caribbean Sea, the fifth vessel taken in recent weeks as the Trump Administration intensifies a sweeping effort to choke off Venezuela’s oil exports and assert control over a maritime trade it says is riddled with sanctions evaders. The Olina tanker was boarded and taken into U.S. custody early Friday in an operation carried out by the Coast Guard and a U.S. military command known as Joint Task Force Southern Spear. The military confirmed the seizure on social media, describing it as part of an “unwavering” campaign focused on “ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.” The overnight operation is the latest move by the Trump Administration to enforce what officials have described as a global blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this week that the blockade applied “anywhere in the world,” a claim that has alarmed shipping companies and drawn sharp protests from Venezuela and its allies. Shipping records and industry officials said the Olina had recently sailed from Venezuelan waters and returned to the region after attempting to move oil amid the blockade, according to Reuters, which also reported that the vessel was falsely flying the flag of Timor Leste. The Olina was previously known as the Minerva M and was sanctioned by the United States last year for its alleged role in the so-called shadow fleet—a loosely regulated network of tankers with opaque ownership and insurance that has been used to move sanctioned oil.  The move came just days after the United States seized another tanker, the Bella 1, in the North Atlantic following a weekslong chase. That ship, which U.S. officials said had fled the Venezuelan blockade, had changed its name to the Marinera and raised a Russian flag.  President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview late Thursday that Russia had dispatched a submarine and a destroyer to protect the vessel, but that the naval escorts withdrew once U.S. forces arrived. “They decided not to mess around with us,” Trump said. He added that the U.S. will be taking “trillions of dollars” of oil with the proceeds controlled by the United States rather than Venezuela’s interim authorities. “We’re going to be there until we straighten out the country,” Trump said, noting that on Friday he is meeting with several Big Oil executives to discuss restoring Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. Earlier this week, U.S. forces also seized another sanctioned tanker, the Sophia, which officials said had been conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean. Together, the actions reflect an increasingly muscular campaign that began last month, when the United States seized two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela as part of the blockade. The stepped-up enforcement follows the dramatic U.S. operation on Jan. 3 that led to the capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and has left the country’s oil industry in turmoil. Venezuela depends heavily on oil exports, and the Trump Administration has argued that cutting off those revenues is essential to preventing corruption, weakening hostile governments, and enforcing international sanctions. But the expanding seizures have raised questions about the legal boundaries of U.S. power on the high seas and the risk of broader confrontation with Russia, a long-time Maduro ally.