US forces seize oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea in pre-dawn mission

U.S. forces boarded an oil tanker on Friday in a pre-dawn action, the U.S. Southern Command announced.

“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,” the U.S. Southern Command wrote in a post on X. 

Two silhouettes of kids carrying a net at a fishing pier are seen, while in the background a crude oil tanker is docking in the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on Jan. 8, 2026. (Margioni Bermúdez/AFP via Getty Images)

“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 added. “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 world’s criminals are on notice” after the latest operation.

“Early this morning, the [U.S. Coast Guard] executed a boarding and seizure of the Motor Tanker Olina in international waters east of the Caribbean Sea. As another “ghost fleet” tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil, this vessel had departed Venezuela attempting to evade U.S. forces,” Noem wrote on X.

“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality. 
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 added. She also praised the U.S. Coast GUard for its “relentless execution of this mission.”

This is the fifth such seizure in recent weeks and comes less than one week after the U.S. carried out a daring operation in Venezuela in which dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cili Flores, were arrested.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.

Fox News’ James Levinson contributed to this report.