U.S. military forces began intercepting illicit 'dark fleet' oil vessels in the Caribbean Sea over the past hour, from 3:16 PM to 4:16 PM UTC on January 24, 2026, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard to disrupt support for malign actors threatening Americans and regional neighbors, according to a U.S. Southern Command post. The operations support Operation Southern Spear, as directed by the Department of War and President Trump's priority to protect the homeland. U.S. Southern Command stated that service members are working with @dhsgov, @USCG, @USNavy, @NAVSOUS4THFLT, @USMC, @MARFORSOUTH, and @22nd_MEU in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. No specific numbers of vessels or locations were detailed in the announcement posted at https://x.com/Southcom/status/2015077136193982631.
