Heightening its global sanctions enforcement, the United States military boarded the oil tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday. This seamless operation in the Indo-Pacific region comes amid escalating efforts to choke off Venezuela’s oil exports defying international restrictions.
The Panama-registered ship, carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil and fuel, was tracked relentlessly from Caribbean waters into the Indian Ocean. Intelligence links it to ongoing oil hauling for Venezuela, Iran, and Russia over the past two years. US claims portray it as a blatant attempt to dodge executive orders aimed at sanctioned tanker traffic.
President Trump’s December directive called for an ironclad blockade, ramped up following Maduro’s January 3, 2026, detention. Last week’s parallel boarding underscores a pattern of proactive interdictions, with the Defense Department asserting dominance over all domains.
‘International maritime spaces offer no refuge for unlawful actors or their partners,’ read a pointed Pentagon message on X. This latest takedown, executed flawlessly overnight, bolsters the narrative of unrelenting pursuit.
Experts note the tanker’s cargo aligns with patterns of sanctions circumvention, loaded precisely as Venezuelan leadership faltered. In an era of hybrid threats, such naval interventions protect not just policy but the integrity of global trade routes, deterring would-be evaders and affirming US resolve.