U.S. forces boarded the Panamanian-flagged tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, part of Washington’s crackdown on sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments. The Pentagon described the mission as a lawful “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding,” saying the vessel tried to evade a quarantine imposed to pressure Venezuela’s oil sector.

The ship reportedly left Venezuela in early January carrying nearly two million barrels of crude and had links to sanctioned Iranian, Russian, and Venezuelan oil networks. The operation follows another recent boarding of the tanker Aquila II, signaling a broader U.S. campaign to disrupt shadow oil trade routes and enforce sanctions globally.

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