The U.S. military seized another tanker in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command announced. “Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘there is no safe haven for criminals,'” U.S. Southern Command said in a statement. “In a pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended Motor/Tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea without incident.”
“Apprehensions like this are backed by the full power of the U.S. Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group, including the ready and lethal platforms of the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, and USS Fort Lauderdale,” the statement continued. “The Department of War’s Operation Southern Spear is unwavering in its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the tanker is another “ghost fleet” ship “suspected of carrying embargoed oil, this vessel had departed Venezuela attempting to evade U.S. forces.”
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” she added. “The Coast Guard will seize sanctioned oil tankers, enforce U.S. and international law, and eliminate these funding streams for illicit activity including narco-terrorism.” Noem emphasized that the Trump administration is “deeply proud of the Coast Guard’s maritime fighting force for their relentless execution of this mission. This is owning the sea.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. military seized two oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean. Noem explained that “[b]oth vessels —the Motor Tanker Bella I and the Motor Taker Sophia—were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.”
