US forces boarded and took control of an oil tanker in the Caribbean on Friday. The Olina is the fifth ship seized by the US in recent weeks.
“In a pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, in support of the Department of Homeland Security, launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended Motor/Tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea without incident,” a statement from US Southern Command explained.
SOUTHCOM claimed the raid was in defense of “our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.”
An oil industry source told The Guardian that the Olina left Venezuela last week after President Nicolas Maduro was kidnapped by US forces. The tanker later turned around and was sailing back to Venezuela when it was seized by US forces.
President Donald Trump claimed that the Olina was seized in coordination with the interim government in Venezuela, led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. “Today, the United States of America, in coordination with the Interim Authorities of Venezuela, seized an oil tanker which departed Venezuela without our approval,” the President wrote on Truth Social. “This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold through the GREAT Energy Deal, which we have created for such sales.”
Last week, the US seized a Russian-flagged tanker in the northern Atlantic. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement, calling for the US to treat any Russian nationals on the crew “humanely” and for them to be allowed to return home as quickly as possible.
A Russian warship and submarine were reportedly in the vicinity of the Marinera during the seizure, but there was no confrontation between US and Russian forces.
