By BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press
The Pentagon says U.S. military forces have boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela. U.S. Southern Command said Tuesday in a post on X that U.S. forces boarded the Bertha overnight. President Donald Trump had ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers near Venezuela in December to pressure then-President Nicolás Maduro before his capture. Venezuela faced U.S. sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains.
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, AAMER MADHANI, and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press
The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration continues to target sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. The predawn action was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from an aircraft carrier that is part of the extensive force the U.S. has built up in the Caribbean. That's according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared "there is no safe haven for criminals" as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina on Friday. The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to control the production and global distribution of Venezuela's oil products.
By AAMER MADHANI, REGINA GARCIA CANO and EMMA BURROWS Associated Press
President Donald Trump is gathering with top national security officials. Monday's meeting comes as the U.S. Coast Guard is stepping up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of an escalating pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and others are scheduled to join Trump, who is vacationing at his Mar-a-Lago resort, for what the White House calls a "major announcement." Trump is expected to announce plans to build a new, large warship that Trump is calling a "battleship" as part of a larger vision to create a "Golden Fleet." That's according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized comment publicly.
