U.S. forces board tanker Veronica III
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- U.S. forces boarded the Panamanian‑flagged tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean after it tried to defy President Donald Trump’s blockade of sanctioned vessels.
- Pentagon posted on X that it tracked Veronica III from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down, sharing a video of forces boarding a helicopter and the tanker.
- Veronica III left Venezuela on Jan 3, the same day as the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro, carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil.
- Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control listed Veronica III under U.S. sanctions related to Iran.
- Panama Maritime Authority said the vessel’s registration was cancelled in Dec 2024 and it is no longer Panamanian‑flagged.
- Pentagon previously intercepted the Aquila II and, to date, at least nine sanctioned “shadow fleet” ships have been seized as part of the Trump administration’s effort to control Venezuela’s oil.
- U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told NBC News that oil sales from Venezuela under U.S. control have generated more than $1 billion since Maduro’s capture, with an additional $5 billion expected in the next few months.
Why it matters: The boarding adds to a growing tally of U.S. seizures that are funneling Venezuelan oil revenues into Washington‑controlled accounts, already netting over $1 billion and projected to add another $5 billion, while further constraining Maduro’s regime and its global shadow‑fleet smuggling network.
