U.S. Military forces boarded the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea, the Pentagon announced. The action is part of a broader effort to intercept illicit oil shipments connected to Venezuela and enforce a maritime “quarantine” imposed by President Donald Trump.
The Defense Department described the operation as a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding,” stating that the Veronica III attempted to evade the quarantine. “The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine – hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down.” Video footage released by the Pentagon shows U.S. Troops boarding the tanker.
The Veronica III is currently under U.S. Sanctions related to Iran, according to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The vessel departed Venezuela on January 3, coinciding with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. Military operation, according to TankerTrackers.com. The organization reported Sunday that the tanker has been involved with oil shipments from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela since 2023.
President Trump initially ordered the quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December 2025, as a means of pressuring Maduro. Several tankers fled the Venezuelan coast following Maduro’s capture in January, including the Veronica III. The U.S. Has reportedly boarded or seized at least eight tankers as part of “Operation Southern Lance,” a campaign aimed at preventing the sale of Venezuelan oil outside of U.S.-approved channels.
According to NBC News, the Veronica III left Venezuela with nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil. The vessel had previously operated under the name “DS Vector” in an attempt to conceal its identity and evade U.S. Tracking, the New York Times reported last month. It also allegedly falsified its coordinates to appear off the coast of Nigeria.
The U.S. Military stated that international waters “are not a sanctuary,” and vowed to continue pursuing those engaged in illicit activities. “By land, sea, or air we will discover you and deliver justice,” the armed forces said in a statement. The Pentagon has not yet announced the next steps regarding the Veronica III or its cargo.
