US forces board 5th oil tanker linked to Venezuela

This is the third tanker seized in the last three days.

ByIvan Pereira, Mary Kekatos, Jon Haworth, Kevin Shalvey, David Brennan, Meredith Deliso, and Nadine El-Bawab

US forces board another oil tanker linked to Venezuela

U.S. forces boarded another Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean on Friday, according to U.S. Southern Command.

This is the fifth oil tanker to be seized by the United States and the third in the last three days.

"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," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post 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 wrote.

The U.S. Coast Guard is in the lead with support being provided by the U.S. military, sources told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife appeared in a federal court in New York City on Monday, following their capture by U.S. forces over the weekend in a military operation in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

Following the operation, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela for an unspecified "period of time."

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as interim leader to lead the country after what the Venezuelan Supreme Court described as Maduro's "kidnapping."