A U.S. military helicopter approaches the Veronica during the predawn hours on Thursday ahead of the vessel’s seizure in the Caribbean Sea. Image screengrab of U.S. Southern Command video
U.S. Southern Command forces seized a sixth sanctioned oil tanker during the predawn hours Thursday morning as part of Operation Southern Spear.
The seized vessel is named the Veronica and is the largest tanker among those sanctioned by the Trump administration and involved in transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil, according to Southern Command.
“Marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, in support of the Department of Homeland Security, launched from [the aircraft carrier] USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica without incident,” U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post.
“The Veronica is the largest tanker operating in defiance of President [Donald] Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” Southern Command continued. “The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”
Video footage shows U.S. military personnel fast-roping from a helicopter onto the deck of the Vernonica during the seizure.
Through #OpSouthernSpear, the Department of War is unwavering in its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere in partnership with @USCG through @DHSgov and @TheJusticeDept.
In another pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear,… pic.twitter.com/brxO9xXUu3— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) January 15, 2026
The U.S. Coast Guard led the seizure, which occurred without incident, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
“A Coast Guard tactical team conducted a predawn boarding and seizure of Motor Tanker Veronica in the Caribbean,” Noem said, as reported by ABC News.
“As another sanctioned ghost fleet tanker, Motor Tanker Veronica has previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she added.
The seizure occurred a week after Southern Command forces seized three tankers, including the Russian-flagged Marinera, while it was in the North Atlantic.
Also seized last week were the tankers Olina and Sophia, which were captured while in the Caribbean Sea.
The United States is selling the Venezuelan oil cargoes carried by the seized tankers and recently completed its first deal for $500 million, Trump administration officials said earlier this week, according to CBS News.
More sales are expected to occur soon in deals brokered by U.S. officials, with the proceeds controlled by the Trump administration.
This week in Washington
Left, to right, Greenland Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, meet in the office of Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, for a meeting with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday. President Donald Trump maintains that he wants the United States to control Greenland. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
