U.S. Navy Nabs Another ‘Ghost Tanker’ — Trump’s Venezuela Oil Crackdown Ramps Up [WATCH]

The U.S. military just snatched another Venezuela-linked fugitive tanker — and it happened before the sun came up.

U.S. Southern Command announced Thursday that American forces seized the Motor/Tanker Veronica in the Caribbean, marking the sixth oil tanker taken since the U.S. ramped up its campaign against Venezuela’s illicit oil trade.

And Southern Command made it crystal clear: this wasn’t chaos — it was control.

“In another pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, in support of the Department of Homeland Security, launched from USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica without incident. The Veronica is the latest tanker operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean, proving the effectiveness of Operation Southern Spear yet again,” U.S. Southern Command said in a statement.

Southern Command also said the operation is backed by major U.S. Navy power in the region, and warned the days of rogue shipments are over.

“These operations are backed by the full power of the U.S. Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group, including the ready and lethal platforms of USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, and USS Fort Lauderdale. The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully. The Department of War, in coordination with interagency partners, will defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere,” the statement continued.

The seizure comes as President Donald Trump is set to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday — with Venezuela’s future, and its oil, hanging in the balance.

Officials say the intercepted vessels have included ships under U.S. sanctions or part of a “shadow fleet” that disguises origins to move oil from sanctioned producers like Iran, Russia, and Venezuela.

Trump has also said the U.S. will “run” Venezuela after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.

Watch the clip above.