German government condemns New Year's Eve violence after hundreds of arrests

BERLIN (AP) — The German government on Wednesday condemned a series of incidents on New Year’s Eve in which police officers and firefighters were attacked and injured, mostly with fireworks.

Revellers across the country traditionally ring in the new year by setting off large numbers of fireworks in public places. But the latest celebrations were marred by the use of fireworks against emergency officials.

In Berlin, 30 police officers and one firefighter were injured in confrontations or attacks during New Year's Eve, leading to 400 arrests, city officials said. Hundreds of police officers from across the country were deployed to the capital to help prevent further violence.

Five people were killed and hundreds injured across the country after being hit accidentally by fireworks, German news agency dpa reported.

Explosions of very strong, illegal fireworks in Berlin also caused extensive damage in two Berlin neighborhoods and injured numerous people, some of them seriously. According to the city's fire department, powerful detonations severely damaged numerous house facades and broke many windows.

Thirty-six apartments are currently uninhabitable, dpa reported.

“The deployment of strong police forces from the federal states and the federal police and an early and consistent crackdown are the right means against perpetrators of violence and chaos," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

"However, the many arrests in Berlin alone and the renewed attacks on police officers also show that this crackdown was absolutely necessary.”

She wished all injured officers a speedy recovery and vowed that all perpetrators will be "prosecuted and punished with the utmost severity.”

Fireworks light the sky above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate during New Year's celebrations shortly after midnight in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers stand guard in the streets after fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers stand guard in the streets after fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers put out the fire in the streets after the fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers stand guard in the streets after the fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers stand guard in the streets after fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers stand guard in the streets after fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers put out the fire in the streets after the fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Police officers stand guard in the streets after fireworks for the New Year's celebrations in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)