The US Navy and Coast Guard yanked a suspected “ghost fleet” tanker accused of carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil out of the Caribbean in a bold pre-dawn raid Friday — sending a blunt message to smugglers and sanctioned regimes alike: you can run, but you can’t hide.
Marines and sailors with Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford early Friday and seized the motor tanker Olina without incident, US Southern Command said. The operation was carried out in support of the Department of Homeland Security.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: there is no safe haven for criminals,” the combatant command said in a post to X.
The takedown was backed by the full firepower of the Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group — including the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale — underscoring Washington’s escalating crackdown on illicit maritime trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Coast Guard boarded and seized the tanker in international waters east of the Caribbean after it departed Venezuela and attempted to evade US forces.
“The world’s criminals are on notice,” Noem said in a post to X.
Officials suspect Olina is part of a shadowy “ghost fleet” used to move embargoed oil under false flags and fake claims of nationality — profits the Trump administration says bankroll illicit activity including narco-terrorism.
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice,” Noem warned. “They will not hide under false claims of nationality.”
The seizure is part of the Department of War’s Operation Southern Spear, an aggressive campaign aimed at choking off illegal oil trafficking and restoring security across the region.
“This is owning the sea,” Noem said.
