The Pentagon says US forces boarded a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker that attempted to evade them after departing the Caribbean. It is not entirely clear if the vessel was tied to Venezuela’s shadow fleet.The Pentagon on Monday said US forces boarded a sanctioned Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean.
France’s AFP news agency reported that US forces seized the tanker after releasing a social media post announcing that the Aquila II had been “boarded without incident.”
The Department of Defense released a video on X to accompany the announcement.
“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President [Donald] Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” the post read, continuing, “It ran, and we followed.”The US under Donald Trump has deployed a massive naval force to the Caribbean; destroying small boats it claims are transporting drugs, seizing oil tankers and even launching the raid that saw Maduro and his wife extracted from a Venezuelan military compound in the dead of night.
The Aquila II is the eighth ship seized by the US since Trump announced his “blockade,” and the second to lead US forces out of the region in pursuit.
In January, US forces nabbed a Russia-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic after it fled the Venezuelan coast.
Still despite these successes, the number of ships seized is miniscule compared to the 800 or so shadow vessels the US Coast Guard estimates currently operate worldwide
US seizes sanctioned oil tanker in Indian Ocean
The Pentagon says US forces boarded a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker that attempted to evade them after departing the Caribbean. It is not entirely clear if the vessel was tied to Venezuela’s shadow fleet.
An oil tanker seen from behind an assault rifle pointing out of a US military helicopter over the Indian Ocean
So far, the US has seized eight ‘shadow fleet’ tankers transporting illicit oil but it is estimated that as many as 800 more continue to operate globally
The Pentagon on Monday said US forces boarded a sanctioned Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean.
France’s AFP news agency reported that US forces seized the tanker after releasing a social media post announcing that the Aquila II had been “boarded without incident.”
The Department of Defense released a video on X to accompany the announcement.
“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President [Donald] Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” the post read, continuing, “It ran, and we followed.”
Chasing Venezuelan, Iranian and Russian shadow fleets around the world
The US sanctions on the Aquila II are tied to its transport of Russian oil. The Hong Kong-owned vessel was one of at least 16 ships to depart Venezuela last month in the wake of the US capture and extradition of former-President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
Tracking data shows that the Aquila II spent most of its time on the high seas over the past year “running dark,” with its transponder turned off to avoid detection.
Countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Russia all employ so-called “shadow fleets” of falsely flagged tankers running dark in order to avoid sanctions detection as they transport illicit oil from one nation to another.
The US under Donald Trump has deployed a massive naval force to the Caribbean; destroying small boats it claims are transporting drugs, seizing oil tankers and even launching the raid that saw Maduro and his wife extracted from a Venezuelan military compound in the dead of night.
The Aquila II is the eighth ship seized by the US since Trump announced his “blockade,” and the second to lead US forces out of the region in pursuit.
In January, US forces nabbed a Russia-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic after it fled the Venezuelan coast.
Still despite these successes, the number of ships seized is miniscule compared to the 800 or so shadow vessels the US Coast Guard estimates currently operate worldwide.
Trump trying to cut off vital oil deliveries to Cuba
Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington must have full control Venezuelan oil production, refining and distribution.
As part of Washington’s flex in its own hemisphere — and beyond his interdiction in Venezuela and threats to Colombia — Trump has also been keen to isolate Cuba.
The Caribbean island nation is under strict US sanctions and heavily dependent on oil from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico for its survival.
Trump and his advisors are convinced that Cuba’s communist government is ready to fall at any time. Though, admittedly, his is not the first US administration over the past 60 plus years to believe that.
Trump has sought to further increase pressure on Cuba by threatening tariffs on any goods from countries supplying Cuba with oil, a move that would very directly impact Mexico.
