russia today - 2/16/2026 4:50:06 PM - GMT (+3 )
The Panama-flagged vessel was intercepted as part of Washington’s effort to redirect sanctioned Venezuelan oil flows to new buyers
US military forces intercepted and boarded a tanker that was sanctioned for carrying Venezuelan oil in the Indian Ocean overnight on Sunday, the Pentagon has announced.
The US launched a military operation to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January, and claims to have seized control of the country’s oil exports. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said Washington plans to “control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely.”
In a statement on X, the US War Department said the vessel, named Veronica III, was tracked from the Caribbean Sea into the Indian Ocean before being stopped and inspected in what it described as a “right‑of‑visit, maritime interdiction and boarding.”
“The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine – hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon wrote. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down.”
Ship-tracking and maritime data platforms list the Veronica III as a Panama-flagged oil tanker. The action follows a similar boarding last week of another sanctioned vessel.
Trump ordered what he described as a “total and complete blockade” on all US‑sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela in December.
The blockade has continued as part of Washington’s push to redirect Venezuelan oil toward new international buyers. Last week, Israel received its first crude oil shipment from the South American nation, according to Bloomberg.
Reuters also reported last week, citing trade sources, that India’s two state-owned refiners had purchased 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for delivery in the second half of April. The agency also said that, according to shipping schedules, 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude were sent to refineries operated by Spanish oil company Repsol.
At the same time, China, once a top importer of Venezuelan oil, has reportedly turned to discounted Iranian heavy grades to make up for shipments that have stalled under the US blockade, as independent Chinese refiners seek alternatives to Venezuelan supplies.
Moscow has condemned US actions against Caracas, with Russian officials saying Washington’s moves violate international norms. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that the US is trying to take control of all international energy supply routes in an attempt to attain global economic dominance.
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