The Pentagon announced that US forces intercepted and boarded the Veronica III, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker, in the Indian Ocean. Tracked from the Caribbean Sea, the vessel was stopped and inspected without incident. The US conducted a maritime interdiction and boarding operation in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
The Veronica III attempted to evade President Trump’s quarantine measures but was successfully apprehended. The US Defense Department emphasized that international waters are not a safe haven and vowed to enforce justice. Ship-tracking data identifies the Veronica III as a Panama-flagged oil tanker involved in transporting Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil since 2023.
Following a previous incident involving the Aquila II, another Venezuela-linked oil tanker, the US military continues to enforce a blockade on US-sanctioned vessels entering or leaving Venezuela. President Trump had ordered a comprehensive blockade in December, which remains in effect. The Veronica III, under US sanctions related to Iran, departed Venezuela on January 3, 2026, carrying a significant amount of crude and fuel oil.
US troops, under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, also recently boarded a crude oil tanker breaching Washington’s blockade on sanctioned vessels to and from Venezuela. This vessel, like the Veronica III, was tracked from the Caribbean and intercepted in the Indian Ocean. The US Defense Department reiterated its commitment to restricting the movement of illicit actors and their supporters in the maritime domain.
