The US military intercepted and boarded the Panama-flagged oil tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean overnight on Sunday, the Pentagon announced. The vessel was targeted for carrying Venezuelan crude oil under US sanctions, marking the latest action in Washington’s campaign to redirect sanctioned oil flows from Caracas.
The operation involved tracking the tanker from the Caribbean Sea before conducting a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding.” The Pentagon stated the ship attempted to evade what it called President Donald Trump’s “quarantine” and blockade on Venezuelan oil exports. This follows a similar boarding of another sanctioned vessel last week.
Trump’s administration asserts a strategy to control Venezuela’s oil resources, with the President stating in early 2025 plans to manage them “indefinitely.” The US claims a military operation in January aimed to remove President Nicolas Maduro and now seeks to seize oversight of the nation’s oil exports. A “total and complete blockade” on sanctioned tankers was ordered by Trump in December, forming the legal basis for these interdictions.
The stated objective of the sustained naval pressure is to shift Venezuelan oil toward new international buyers, isolating the Maduro government. Recent trade data indicates the strategy is yielding some results. Israel received its first shipment of Venezuelan crude in early 2025, according to Bloomberg. Reuters reported that India’s state refiners purchased 2 million barrels for April delivery, while Spanish firm Repsol received a similar volume.
However, the blockade has also disrupted long-standing supply chains. China, formerly a top importer, has reportedly turned to discounted Iranian heavy-grade crude to compensate for stalled Venezuelan shipments, as independent Chinese refiners seek alternatives.
These actions have drawn criticism from Russia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the US maneuvers as violations of international norms, accusing Washington of attempting to dominate global energy supply routes for economic supremacy.
The interception underscores the US effort to enforce unilateral sanctions far from Venezuelan waters, using naval power to reshape global oil trade patterns. The long-term effectiveness of the strategy in redirecting flows versus merely disrupting them remains a critical question for international energy markets and diplomatic relations.
The incident highlights the escalating use of maritime interdiction as a tool of economic statecraft, with significant implications for sovereign trade and international law.
