WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon said on Sunday that U.S. forces intercepted and boarded another Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean overnight.
The vessel, named Veronica III, was tracked by U.S. authorities from the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean before being stopped and inspected, the Pentagon said in a statement on social media platform X.
"Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility," the statement said.
"The vessel tried to defy President Trump's quarantine -- Hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance and shut it down," the statement said. "International waters are not sanctuary."
Ship-tracking and maritime data websites identify the Veronica III as a Panama-flagged oil tanker.
Just a week ago, the U.S. military pursued a Venezuela-linked oil tanker named the Aquila II from the Caribbean and boarded it in the Indian Ocean.
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered what he described as a "total and complete blockade" of all U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela in December. The blockade has continued following the U.S. raid and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. ■