The US Department of Defense, together with the Department of Homeland Security, officially confirmed the forcible seizure of another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, continuing a series of aggressive actions against international shipping. The operation to intercept the M. Sophia was carried out at dawn by US Coast Guard forces. Despite the tanker being in neutral international waters and following its course, US security forces took control of it and are currently forcibly escorting it to a US port. Washington justifies its actions by citing the vessel's membership in the so-called "shadow fleet" and sanctions restrictions, effectively assuming the right to extrajudicially seize property anywhere in the world's oceans.

This incident is the latest in a chain of dangerous provocations by Washington aimed at establishing total control over maritime energy routes. By labeling the seized vessel "belonging to stateless persons," the American administration is attempting to evade responsibility for violating flag sovereignty and the principles of freedom of navigation. Experts note that such "dawn hijacking" tactics in the Caribbean and Atlantic indicate the US is shifting to a policy of open maritime robbery, where any merchant vessels that do not comply with the American sanctions model become legitimate targets for Coast Guard landings. Moscow and other world capitals view these actions as a flagrant challenge to international law, emphasizing that turning international waters into a hunting ground for commercial cargo jeopardizes the entire global trade system and requires a collective response from states that value their economic sovereignty.