In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two “ghost fleet” tanker ships— one in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean.

Both vessels —the Motor Tanker Bella I and the Motor Taker Sophia—were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.

The world’s criminals are on notice. You can run, but you can’t hide.

This is our country’s greatest fighting force at their best. This is America first at sea.

Statement issued by the General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces:

The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces confirms that the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods have been completely besieged by Damascus government forces for more than six months. These neighborhoods pose no military threat whatsoever and cannot serve as a launching point for any attack on the city of Aleppo. The claims propagated by bloodthirsty elements within the Damascus factions regarding any intention or military action by our forces originating from these two neighborhoods are false and fabricated, used as a pretext to justify the siege, bombardment, and massacres perpetrated against civilians.

We categorically affirm that the Syrian Democratic Forces have no military presence in the city of Aleppo. Their withdrawal was public and documented in front of the media, in accordance with a clear agreement, and security responsibilities were handed over to the Internal Security Forces. The reemergence of these baseless arguments serves only to provide political and military cover for the ongoing brutal assault on safe residential areas. We call upon the guarantor states, as well as the responsible parties within the Syrian government who claim to uphold national unity, to assume their immediate responsibilities and work to immediately halt the siege, bombardment, and military offensive targeting innocent civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods without any justification.

We warn that the continuation of this aggression against civilians will lead to serious repercussions that will not be limited to the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods or to the city of Aleppo alone, but will return all of Syria to an open battlefield. Full responsibility for this will fall on those who insist on using force against civilians.

The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces is closely monitoring the situation with utmost sensitivity, in coordination with all parties concerned with the safety and security of our people in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods. It affirms that the siege, the threat of force, the targeting of civilians, and their use as bargaining chips or human shields constitute crimes that are unacceptable and condemned by all legal and humanitarian standards.

General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces
January 7, 2026