Chechen critic fears for his life as he faces deportation

Chechnya's leader and his security forces have been widely accused by human rights groups of extrajudicial arrests, torture and killings at home. Now they are threatening Chechens who fled abroad, warning they will pay dearly for their criticisms if they ever return home.

In a chilling video that has been watched by 2 million people, Magomed Daudov, the right-hand man of Chechnya's strongman, apparently contacted blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov through WhatsApp, pressuring and threatening him.

Abdurakhmanov's case highlights the growing dangers for those from mostly Muslim Chechnya who try to seek asylum in Europe, where authorities have become increasingly reluctant to allow them in amid terrorism fears and a growing political backlash against all migrants.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, the 32-year-old Chechen video blogger, is photographed during an interview with The Associated Press somewhere in Poland. Abdurakhmanov, a critic of the Chechen ruler, faces deportation from Poland as European nations become increasingly wary of sheltering refugees from Chechnya. (AP PhotoFrancesca Ebel)

Abdurakhmanov, who's in danger of being deported from Poland, says he will be killed if he is sent back to Chechnya.

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov smiles prior to President Vladimir Putin's annual state of the nation address in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Kadyrov and his security forces have been widely accused by international human rights groups of extrajudicial arrests, torture and killings. (AP PhotoPavel Golovkin, file)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, the 32-year-old Chechen video blogger, is photographed during an interview with The Associated Press somewhere in Poland. Abdurakhmanov, a critic of the Chechen ruler, faces deportation from Poland as European nations become increasingly wary of sheltering refugees from Chechnya. (AP PhotoFrancesca Ebel)

FILE - In this Saturday, May 16, 2015 file photo, head of the Chechen leader's administration Magomed Daudov attends a wedding registry office in Chechnya's provincial capital Grozny, Russia. Magomed Daudov, the right-hand man of the provincial leader Ramzan Kadyrov, is one the most feared men in the Russian province of Chechnya. (AP PhotoFile)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, as the Trump administration targets sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a broader effort to take control of the South American country's oil.

The predawn raid was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, part of the extensive force the U.S. has built up in the Caribbean in recent months, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the tanker called the Olina. The Coast Guard then took control of the vessel, officials said.

Southern Command and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem both posted unclassified footage on social media Friday morning of a U.S. helicopter landing on the vessel and U.S. personnel conducting a search of the deck and tossing what appeared to be an explosive device in front of a door leading to inside the ship.

In her post, Noem said the ship was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and it had departed Venezuela “attempting to evade U.S. forces."

The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the third since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.

In a post on his social media network later in the day, Trump said the seizure was conducted “in coordination with the Interim Authorities of Venezuela” but offered no elaboration.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for more details.

Venezuela’s government acknowledged in a statement that it was working with U.S. authorities to return the tanker, “which set sail without payment or authorization from the Venezuelan authorities,” to the South American nation.

“Thanks to this first successful joint operation, the ship is sailing back to Venezuelan waters for its protection and relevant actions,” according to the statement.

Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document that at least 16 tankers left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships from conducting trade. The Olina was among that flotilla.

U.S. government records show that the Olina was sanctioned for moving Russian oil under its prior name, Minerva M, and flagged in Panama.

While records show the Olina is now flying the flag of Timor-Leste, it is listed in the international shipping registry as having a false flag, meaning the registration it is claiming is not valid. In July, the owner and manager of the ship on its registration was changed to a company in Hong Kong.

According to ship tracking databases, the Olina last transmitted its location in November in the Caribbean, north of the Venezuelan coast. Since then, however, the ship has been running dark with its location beacon turned off.

While Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law, other officials in the Trump administration have made clear they see it as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela's battered oil industry and restore its economy.

In an early morning social media post, Trump said the U.S. and Venezuela “are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.”

The administration said it expects to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, with the proceeds to go to both the U.S. and Venezuelan people. But the president expects the arrangement to continue indefinitely. He met Friday with executives from oil companies to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution.

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News this week that the U.S. can “control” Venezuela’s “purse strings” by dictating where its oil can be sold.

Madani estimated that the Olina is loaded with 707,000 barrels of oil, which at the current market price of about $60 a barrel would be worth more than $42 million.

Associated Press writers Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Josh Boak in Washington, and Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to reflect that the United States has seized three tankers, not five, since Nicolás Maduro was ousted as Venezuela’s president.

FILE - Evana, an oil tanker, is docked at El Palito Port in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, Dec. 21, 2025. The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)