WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it seized another tanker that tried to break an American naval blockade aimed at preventing sanctioned vessels from going to or departing Venezuela, the fifth ship apprehended in recent weeks.

Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, striking boats it says were used for drug trafficking, seizing tankers and carrying out a stunning operation to seize Venezuela’s leftist leader.

The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” that “departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces.”

The world’s criminals are on notice.

Early this morning, the @USCG 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… pic.twitter.com/vvS3u3nrvl