In a significant maritime operation, United States military forces have successfully raided a sanctioned oil tanker with connections to Venezuela, according to an official statement from the Pentagon released on Sunday. Dramatic footage disseminated online by the Department of War captured the moment armed troops, deployed via helicopter, boarded the vessel known as the Veronica III in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean.
Tracking a Sanctioned Vessel
The operation culminated after an extensive tracking effort that began in the Caribbean Sea. The Veronica III had departed from Venezuela on January 3, coinciding with the reported capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Intelligence suggests the tanker was laden with approximately 1.9 million barrels of crude and fuel oil at the time of its departure, as detailed in a social media post by the monitoring group TankerTrackers.com.
"Since 2023, she's been involved with Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil," the organisation stated, highlighting the vessel's alleged role in circumventing international sanctions.
A Message from the Department of War
The Department of War elaborated on the mission in its own social media communication on Sunday, declaring: "Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM [United States Indo-Pacific Command] area of responsibility."
The statement continued with a stark warning: "The vessel tried to defy President Trump's quarantine - hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this. International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice."
Further emphasising their resolve, the department added that it "will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain." Accompanying photographs revealed at least fifteen US soldiers on the tanker's deck, equipped with rifles and advanced night vision equipment.
Profile of the Veronica III
The Veronica III is a Panamanian-flagged vessel currently under specific US sanctions related to Iran. According to data from Open Sanctions, it is "engaged in the illegal transportation of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of sanctioned Iranian oil." This raid represents the latest in a series of assertive maritime interventions undertaken by the US military, aimed squarely at enforcing international sanctions and disrupting Venezuelan oil exports.
A Pattern of Enforcement
In the past year alone, US forces have seized at least eight other oil tankers in similar operations. Just last week, the vessel Aquila II was captured as it also attempted to evade the US-enforced quarantine measures. The Aquila II had been sanctioned by the US on January 10 for transporting Russian oil and was already under UK sanctions due to its Russian connections.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commented on the pursuit of the Aquila II, stating: "It ran, and we followed. By land, air or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us."
The Department of War reinforced this unwavering stance by posting additional footage of the Veronica III raid, accompanied by the message: "When the Department of War says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DOW from defending our Homeland - even in oceans halfway around the world."
This latest seizure marks the eighth ship captured since the Trump administration initiated its concerted campaign against illegal oil shipments originating from the Caribbean, a strategic move designed to sever a primary revenue stream for the Venezuelan state.
