U.S. Seizes Sixth Venezuela-Linked Tanker in Caribbean Under Operation Southern Spear

Overview

• U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors boarded the motor tanker Veronica before dawn in Caribbean waters without incident.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the ship had transited Venezuelan waters and was operating in violation of President Trump's regional quarantine for sanctioned ships.
• SOUTHCOM reported forces launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford and a U.S. Coast Guard tactical team conducted the boarding, with officials sharing video of a helicopter insertion.
• The operation was reported hours before President Trump’s scheduled White House meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
• The seizure extends a January enforcement campaign that has already netted multiple tankers, including the Jan. 9 capture of the sanctioned Olina, which had sailed under a false flag.