The US military confirmed that it boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after monitoring the ship from the Caribbean Sea, amid the administration of President Donald Trump continuing to implement maritime blockades around Venezuela.
This operation marks the third largest ship blocked by US forces within the framework of the policy of maintaining pressure on Venezuela after conducting an operation to arrest President Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
Three ships have fled and now all three have been seized. From the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean, we have monitored and intercepted the ship" - The US Department of War posted on social media a video of US helicopters flying above the oil tanker.
In early February, the US military intercepted and boarded the Aquila II - a tanker leaving Venezuela in December 2025 - when the ship approached the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.
US forces also boarded the second oil tanker, the Panamanian-flagged Veronica III, in the Indian Ocean a week later.
The Pentagon spokesman declined to provide further details about the oil tanker that was just blocked in the Indian Ocean and forwarded further questions to the White House.
