U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker as part of an ongoing blockade of oil vessels sailing to and from Venezuela.
Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.
The Veronica is the sixth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s plans to control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely as his administration seeks to rebuild the country’s dilapidated oil industry, and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela leader Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The vessels intercepted so far have been either under U.S. sanctions or part of a “shadow fleet” of unregulated ships that disguise their origins to move oil from major sanctioned producers—Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.
Last week, the U.S. seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic.
Noem, in her social media post, said that the raid was carried out with “close coordination with our colleagues” in the military as well as the State and Justice departments.
“Our heroic Coast Guard men and women once again ensured a flawlessly executed operation, in accordance with international law,” Noem added.
The latest seizure came ahead of Thursday’s meeting between Trump and Machado, in their first face-to-face meeting since the U.S. ousted her long-time foe, Maduro.
Trump has previously called her a “freedom fighter” but dismissed the idea of installing her to lead Venezuela after ousting Maduro, saying she did not have enough domestic support.
A classified CIA assessment presented to Trump concluded that Maduro loyalists, including Rodriguez, were best positioned to maintain stability.
Reuters contributed to this report.
