The US on Friday seized a fifth oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, as Washington sent envoys to Caracas to examine the possibility of reopening the American embassy there.
Soldiers under Operation Southern Spear, with support from the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended the tanker Olina "without incident", the US Southern Command said in a post on X .
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Timor Leste-flagged vessel was part of a "ghost fleet" believed to be carrying embargoed oil.
"The Coast Guard will seize sanctioned oil tankers, enforce US and international law, and eliminate these funding streams for illicit activity including narco-terrorism," Ms Noem said in a post on X.
US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the raid had been conducted in co-ordination with Venezuela's interim authorities. The oil would be sold through a new oil deal, he added.
The Olina left Venezuela last week as part of a flotilla shortly after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro at the weekend, and the vessel was returning to the South American country, fully loaded with oil, following the US blockade of the nation's oil exports, Reuters reported, quoting an industry source.
This week, the US seized a Russian-flagged tanker in the Atlantic Ocean, believed to have carried illegal cargo for a company allegedly owned by Hezbollah.
It comes as Washington has sent a diplomatic team to Caracas to assess the possibility of reopening the US embassy.
“On January 9, US diplomatic and security personnel from the VAU [Venezuela Affairs Unit], including Chargé d’Affaires John T McNamara, travelled to Caracas to conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations," a US official said.
The embassy suspended operations in the country in 2019 and removed all diplomatic personnel, after Mr Maduro expelled the chargé d’affaires. The US instead established the VAU out of the embassy in neighbouring Colombia.
The US has not had an ambassador to Venezuela since 2010.
The US State Department has issued a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" warning on Venezuela.
