{"id":12329,"date":"2026-02-16T07:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12329"},"modified":"2026-02-16T07:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:04:16","slug":"us-forces-board-tanker-in-indian-ocean-that-fled-trumps-venezuela-blockade-donald-trump-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12329","title":{"rendered":"US forces board tanker in Indian Ocean that fled Trump\u2019s Venezuela blockade | Donald Trump News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Panamanian-flagged Veronica III left Venezuela on the same day as the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 16 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">16 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>United States forces have boarded another tanker in the Indian Ocean that was sanctioned for carrying Venezuelan oil, according to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on X on Sunday, the Pentagon said the Panamanian-flagged Veronica III had \u201ctried to defy\u201d US President Donald Trump\u2019s blockade of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and attempted to \u201cslip away\u201d.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>But, \u201cWe tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:400\">The post included a video of US forces boarding a helicopter and then boarding the tanker ship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:400\">Venezuela faced US sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December to pressure President Nicolas Maduro, before US special forces abducted the Venezuelan leader in January.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:400\">Several tankers fled the Venezuelan coast in the wake of the raid, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overnight.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the Pentagon also intercepted the Aquila II in a similar fashion.<\/p>\n<p>At least nine ships have been seized so far.<\/p>\n<p>The seizures are part of the Trump administration\u2019s broader efforts to take control of Venezuela\u2019s oil.<\/p>\n<p>US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told NBC News on Thursday that oil sales from Venezuela, controlled by Washington, have generated more than $1bn since Maduro\u2019s capture. He said the sales in the next few months will bring in another $5bn.<\/p>\n<p>According to TankerTrackers.com, the Veronica III left Venezuela on January 3, the same day as Maduro\u2019s abduction, with nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince 2023, she\u2019s been involved with Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil,\u201d the organisation said.<\/p>\n<p>The vessel has been under US sanctions related to Iran, according to the website of the Treasury Department\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control.<\/p>\n<p>The Panama Maritime Authority said in a brief statement on Sunday that the ship was no longer registered there and had been cancelled in December 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon did not say in the post whether the Veronica III was formally seized and placed under US control. It told The Associated Press news agency in an email that it had no additional information to provide beyond that post.<\/p>\n<p>The ships\u00a0seized in recent months make up only a tiny fraction of the total number of sanctioned \u201cshadow fleet\u201d vessels operating worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>The AFP news agency, citing a senior US coastguard officer, said the number could be as high as 800.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, US forces also attacked a boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people, as it continues deadly air strikes on vessels it alleges are carrying drugs. The strikes have killed at least 133 people since September 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Panamanian-flagged Veronica III left Venezuela on the same day as the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 16 Feb 202616 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States forces have boarded another tanker in the Indian Ocean that was sanctioned [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}