The U.S. military has intercepted and boarded another oil tanker tied to Venezuela after tracking the vessel thousands of miles from the Caribbean into the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday.
According to the Defense Department, U.S. forces carried out a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding” of the Panamanian-flagged Veronica III in the Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility. The operation occurred without incident, and video released by the Pentagon shows American troops climbing aboard the tanker.
“The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon said in a post on X. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down.”
The boarding is part of a broader crackdown on vessels transporting sanctioned oil linked to Venezuela. Since December, when President Donald Trump ordered a naval quarantine aimed at pressuring then-President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. forces have intercepted or seized multiple tankers attempting to move crude out of the country. Maduro was captured during a U.S. military operation in January, after which several ships reportedly fled Venezuelan ports.
Ship-tracking data indicates the Veronica III departed Venezuela in early January carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil. The vessel has previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for activities involving Iranian oil and has been associated with Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan shipments in recent years. Reports also indicate the tanker has operated under different names and flags to evade enforcement.
Monitoring groups using satellite imagery have said at least 16 tankers attempted to leave Venezuelan waters following Maduro’s capture, with several disabling tracking signals.
The Pentagon has not clarified whether the Veronica III has been formally seized or what its ultimate disposition will be. Last week, U.S. forces boarded another tanker, the Aquila II, which remains in U.S. custody pending a final decision.
In its statement, the Defense Department underscored its global reach, declaring: “International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice. The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain.”
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