Paris celebrates its liberation from Nazis, 75 years on

Paris is celebrating the French resistance fighters, American soldiers and others who liberated the City of Light from Nazi occupation exactly 75 years ago.

A parade on Sunday will retrace the entry of French and American tanks into southern Paris on Aug. 25, 1944.

Firefighters will raise a French flag on the Eiffel Tower, recreating the moment when a French tricolor stitched together from sheets was hoisted atop the monument 75 years ago to replace the swastika flag that had flown for four years.

FILE - In this Aug. 25, 1944 file photo, a Parisian girl hold her hands high in the victory sign as American troops pass through Paris, on their way to the front after the French capital was liberated. The fighting for the liberation of Paris took place from August 19 to August 25, 1944. (AP PhotoRichard Boyer, File)

Paris suffered relatively little damage in World War II but its citizens were humiliated, hungry and mistrustful after 50 months under the Nazis.

The liberation of Paris was both joyous and chaotic, with nearly 5,000 people killed.

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 1944 file photo, French girls rush to greet American soldiers upon their arrival in Paris. The fighting for the liberation of Paris took place from August 19 to August 25, 1944. The French Resistance staged an uprising against the Nazis, leading attacks against German soldiers and vehicles and building barricades in the streets of the French capital. Towers of Notre Dame are in background at right. (AP Photo, File)

Tourists stand under bullet holes, which remain from the fight for the liberation of Paris, mid August 1944, along the wall of the Tuileries Garden at the place de la Concorde in Paris, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019. Paris suffered no major damage during the fighting, though official edifices still bear the bullet holes of fighting. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

Steven Melnikoff, 99, of the 175th regiment of the 29th infantry division and is one of the few veterans left who took part to the D-Day landings on June 06, 1944, adjusts his cap during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Melnikoff was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)

Harold Radish, 95, of the 90th division and a prisoner of war, poses during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Radish arrived in Normandy a few months after D-Day, fought into Germany, and then was captured and held as a prisoner of war. As a Jew, he remains surprised and grateful to have made it out alive. Radish was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)

Donald Cobb, 95, of the US Navy, shows his medals during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Cobb, who was aboard the USS Murphy during the battles of Normandy, Southern France, North Africa and in the Mediterranean sea, was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)

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)