Shafaq News- Washington

The United States seized the oil tanker Olena after it departed from Venezuela, as US forces operating from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford took control of the vessel in the Caribbean, American media outlets reported on Friday.

Citing US officials, CNN indicated that the operation proceeded smoothly and encountered no resistance during the takeover.

According to vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic, the Olena was flying the flag of East Timor.

The move followed the detention of a Russian-linked oil tanker, Marinera, in the North Atlantic two days earlier, part of broader US measures targeting vessels linked to Venezuela’s oil trade.

Last month, US forces intercepted three oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast. Those actions culminated last week in a brief operation in which the US military abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

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