This view shows the bulk carrier Ithaca Patience (R) and the crude oil tanker Nord Star, both from Panama, anchored on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela on Jan. 7, 2026. (Maryorin Mendez/AFP via Getty Images)
One of the vessels, the supertanker M Sophia, which had the Panamanian flag, was intercepted by the U.S. earlier this week, as was the Olina, which had the flag of Sao Tome And Principe, according to Reuters. The outlet reported, citing PDVSA, that the Olina was released to Venezuela on Friday.
The Olina had been seized by U.S. forces in a pre-dawn mission on Friday. The U.S. Southern Command said that Marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear worked on the mission in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
"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 U.S. Southern Command wrote in a post on X. "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."
The Olina, previously named the Minerva M, was sanctioned by the United States for its role in transporting Russian oil, according to The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. oil companies' executives look on during a meeting with President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 9, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
"It's a whole different Venezuela and Venezuela is going to be very successful, and the people of the United States are going to be big beneficiaries because we're going to be extracting, you know, numbers of in terms of oil, like, you know, few people have ever seen actually. So, you're dealing with us directly. You're not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don't want you to deal with Venezuela," the president added.
The president also predicted that the acquisition of Venezuelan oil would lead to massive wealth, lower taxes and "lots of jobs for Americans and for Venezuelans."
Days before the meeting with oil executives, Trump said that Venezuela would be turning over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of "high-quality," sanctioned oil to the U.S. He made the announcement on Truth Social and said that the oil would be sold at market price and that he would "control the proceeds to ensure it is "used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!"
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/four-tankers-left-venezuela-dark-mode-return-us-eyes-countrys-oil