CARIBBEAN - U.S. President Donald Trump announced that United States forces seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast.
The announcement indicated the operation was led by the U.S. Coast Guard with Navy support.
Seizure was described as occurring in international waters, and portrayed as the largest seizure of its kind. This development aligns with measures against suspected illicit activities in the region.
Naval deployments commenced in late August, with the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.
The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group reinforced in November.
CARIBBEAN - According to U.S. Southern Command, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere struck a go-fast vessel, a small fast boat, in the Caribbean on October 4.
CARIBBEAN SEA - Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out a lethal kinetic strike on September 9 against a go-fast vessel, a small high-speed boat, on routes the command called established narco-trafficking lanes in the Caribbean.
EASTERN PACIFIC - U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere forces on September 7 interdicted a vessel the command described as a floating refueling station supporting at-sea drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.
EASTERN PACIFIC - On August 23, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out a strike on a low-profile vessel operating along routes SOUTHCOM described as established narco-trafficking routes, according to U.S. Southern Command.
