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U.S. forces intercepted another sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean on Sunday as part of an expanding operation to target vessels transporting illicit oil connected to Venezuela, according to Pentagon officials.
The Veronica III, which had attempted to evade the maritime quarantine imposed by President Trump in December, was tracked from the Caribbean Sea across thousands of miles before U.S. military personnel boarded the vessel and conducted a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding,” the Defense Department announced on social media.
“The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon stated. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down.”
Video footage released by the Pentagon showed U.S. troops boarding the tanker in a nighttime operation, though officials did not clarify whether the vessel has been formally seized or placed under U.S. control.
The Veronica III reportedly departed Venezuelan waters on January 3 – the same day as former President Nicolás Maduro’s capture during an American military operation – carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil, according to maritime tracking organization TankerTrackers.com.
The Panama Maritime Authority issued a statement Sunday clarifying that the ship was no longer registered under its flag, having been removed from Panama’s registry in December 2024. According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the vessel is subject to U.S. sanctions related to Iran.
“Since 2023, she’s been involved with Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil,” TankerTrackers.com noted in a social media post, highlighting the vessel’s role in a complex network of sanctioned petroleum shipments.
This interdiction represents the second such operation in recent days. Last week, U.S. forces boarded another tanker, the Aquila II, also in the Indian Ocean. A defense official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of ongoing operations, indicated that the Aquila II remains in U.S. custody while authorities determine its ultimate disposition.
Venezuela has long relied on what industry experts call a “shadow fleet” of falsely flagged tankers to circumvent international sanctions and smuggle its petroleum products into global markets. In January, Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, revealed that at least 16 tankers departed Venezuelan ports in apparent violation of the U.S.-imposed quarantine following Maduro’s capture.
The Trump administration has intensified efforts to target Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and distribution networks, viewing petroleum revenues as a critical source of funding for the Maduro regime. The quarantine, announced in December, represented a significant escalation in U.S. policy toward Venezuela’s energy sector, which has been under various sanctions for several years.
These maritime interdictions demonstrate the global reach of U.S. naval forces and intelligence capabilities, as they tracked the Veronica III across multiple ocean regions before conducting the boarding operation thousands of miles from Venezuelan waters.
The seizure of oil tankers marks an aggressive new phase in American strategy regarding Venezuela, combining military operations with economic pressure to control the country’s primary export commodity. Oil revenues have long been the economic lifeblood of Venezuela, which possesses the world’s largest proven petroleum reserves despite years of declining production under state control.
The Pentagon has not provided additional details about the future of the intercepted vessel or its cargo, and questions remain about the legal framework for these seizures in international waters. These operations represent an unprecedented application of maritime law enforcement to target sanctioned petroleum shipments and could potentially reshape the dynamics of international sanctions enforcement.
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12 Comments
This latest interdiction highlights the US military’s capabilities to track and interdict vessels across vast distances. It will be interesting to see how Venezuela and its allies respond to these provocations.
Indeed, the US is flexing its maritime dominance here. The geopolitical fallout from these actions could be significant.
This is part of the broader efforts by the US to tighten the screws on Venezuela through its maritime blockade. It will be important to watch how other countries respond, especially major oil importers.
You raise a good point. The global ramifications of these oil interdiction operations are worth closely monitoring.
The capture of Venezuelan oil tankers is part of the US strategy to choke off the Maduro regime’s access to oil revenues. However, the long-term effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen.
You make a good point. The broader economic and political implications of these actions against Venezuela’s oil industry merit close analysis.
While the US cites sanctions violations, the legality and precedent set by these maritime intercepts will likely be debated. Curious to see how this unfolds on the diplomatic stage.
Absolutely, the legal justification for these actions will be closely scrutinized. This could have wider implications for international maritime law.
Interesting move by the US military to intercept this sanctioned oil tanker. Curious to see how this plays out diplomatically and what impact it may have on global energy markets.
Agreed, this could further escalate tensions between the US and Venezuela. The timing is notable with Maduro’s recent capture.
While the US cites sanctions, the optics of this latest boarding operation raise questions about the legality and precedent being set. The diplomatic repercussions could be far-reaching.
Agreed, the legal justification for these interdictions will be closely scrutinized. This could have wider implications for international law and norms.