US seizes another tanker triying to break Venezuela naval blockade

Washington said on Friday that it had seized another tanker that tried to break a US naval blockade aimed at preventing sanctioned vessels from going to or departing from Venezuela, the fifth such ship that has been apprehended in recent weeks.

Washington has deployed a massive naval force in the Caribbean, striking alleged drug-trafficking boats, seizing tankers and carrying out a lightning weekend operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.

The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was "another 'ghost fleet' tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil" that "departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces."

"The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality," Noem wrote in a post on X, saying the US Coast Guard had carried out the seizure.

US Southern Command or SOUTHCOM, which is responsible for American forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the pre-dawn operation, launching from the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier.

"Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: 'There is no safe haven for criminals,'" SOUTHCOM said on X in a post that also included a video clip showing US forces rappelling from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.

US President Donald Trump said last month that he had ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuelan and US forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.

Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.

Trump said that the US could run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years, in an interview published on Thursday.

"Only time will tell" how long Washington would demand direct oversight of the South American country, Trump told The New York Times.

But when asked whether that meant three months, six months or a year, he replied: "I would say much longer."