Trio leads Whitecaps to 2-0 victory over Sporting KC

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Édier Ocampo scored two minutes into the match, Kenji Cabrera scored his first goal in his third appearance and Yohei Takaoka needed just one save for his league-leading 13th clean sheet of the season in the Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.

Vancouver (16-6-7) pulled within two points of first-place San Diego FC in the Western Conference with two matches in hand.

The Whitecaps jumped in front when rookie defender Ocampo scored his second goal. Rookie forward Emmanuel Sabbi notched his third assist on the netter.

Cabrera — a 22-year-old midfielder — took a pass from Ali Ahmed in the 43rd minute of his first start and scored for a 2-0 lead at the half. Ahmed's assist was his career-high seventh of the season. He had one assist in his first 46 appearances.

John Pulskamp stopped two shots in goal for Sporting KC (7-18-6).

Sporting KC travels to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Whitecaps travel to play the Seattle Sounders on Saturday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Sporting Kansas City defender Ian James (2) and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Kenji Cabrera (17) chase after the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Santiago Munoz, left, and Vancouver Whitecaps defender Mathias Laborda (2) battle for the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy, top, leaps over Vancouver Whitecaps defender Edier Ocampo during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A ball kicked by Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Kenji Cabrera gets past Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp, left, to score a goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Ali Ahmed, left, tries to steal the ball from Sporting Kansas City defender Khiry Shelton, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Jean-Claude Ngando (26) kicks the ball past Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy, left, during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Ali Ahmed (22) is chased by Sporting Kansas City midfielder Erik Thommy, right, during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Jake Davis, right, kicks the ball under pressure from Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Jean-Claude Ngando (26) during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) kicks the ball away from Sporting Kansas City midfielder Zorhan Bassong (22) during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka (1) blocks a shot during the second half of an MLS soccer match against Sporting Kansas City, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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)