The United States has seized the Olina, marking the fifth oil tanker taken in recent weeks as part of a broad campaign to clamp down on Venezuelan crude shipments that Washington says violate sanctions and undermine global markets.
United States Southern Command said Marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, boarded the Olina in the Caribbean Sea without incident, underscoring an intensified maritime effort to enforce the Venezuelan oil blockade.
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According to shipping data, the Olina (formerly known as Minerva M) had been sanctioned by the United States and was flying the flag of Timor-Leste, a registry that appears to have been used to disguise its movements. The vessel had sailed from Venezuela fully loaded with crude before being intercepted.
This latest seizure follows a string of interdictions, including several tankers tied to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments that United States forces have pursued and captured in Caribbean and North Atlantic waters. Three other fully loaded vessels from the same flotilla reportedly turned back toward Venezuelan ports earlier this week.
United States officials frame the campaign as enforcement of sanctions on what they call a "shadow fleet" of ships circumventing embargoes, and Southern Command's statement declared there is "no safe haven for criminals."