US forces board tanker in Indian Ocean that fled Trump’s Venezuela blockade

US military forces boarded the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea. The Pentagon announced this operation on Sunday, stating that the vessel had fled a blockade imposed by the United States against sanctioned ships leaving or heading to Venezuela. The Veronica III left Venezuela on the same day that President Nicolás Maduro was captured in January during an American military operation. The US has accused the Veronica III of violating a "quarantine" on oil shipments from Venezuela, which had been under US sanctions for several years. These sanctions have led to the reliance on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle Venezuelan crude oil into global supply chains. The quarantine was ordered by President Donald Trump in December as a measure to pressure Maduro's regime. The interception of the Veronica III is part of a broader effort by the US to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela. The Pentagon's tracking of the vessel highlights the ongoing enforcement of sanctions against Venezuela's oil exports, which have been a significant source of revenue for the Maduro government. The US military's actions reflect its commitment to curtailing the flow of oil that it deems to be in violation of its sanctions. This operation marks the second time US forces have boarded a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, underscoring the continued tensions surrounding Venezuela's oil trade and the US's efforts to enforce its sanctions against the Maduro regime.