"Apprehensions like this are backed by the full power of the U.S. Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group, including the ready and lethal platforms of the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, and USS Fort Lauderdale," the statement added. "The Department of War’s Operation Southern Spear is unwavering in its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere."
U.S. Southern Command said the operation sent a clear message that "there is no safe haven for criminals."
"The vessel’s AIS (location) tracker was last active 52 days ago in the Venezuelan EEZ, northeast of Curaçao," British maritime risk management company Vanguard said, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cili Flores, were arrested.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said "the world's criminals are on notice" after the latest operation.
"Early this morning, the [U.S. Coast Guard] executed a boarding and seizure of the Motor Tanker Olina in international waters east of the Caribbean Sea. As another "ghost fleet" tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil, this vessel had departed Venezuela attempting to evade U.S. forces," Noem wrote on X.
"The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality.
The Coast Guard will seize sanctioned oil tankers, enforce U.S. and international law, and eliminate these funding streams for illicit activity including narco-terrorism," Noem added. She also praised the U.S. Coast Guard for its "relentless execution of this mission."
Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this report.