WASHINGTON – The U.S. Military has seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker, the Aquila II, in the Indian Ocean, escalating a campaign to disrupt Venezuela’s oil exports. The Pentagon announced the capture on Monday, asserting its determination to enforce a blockade imposed by President Donald Trump, even “halfway around the world.”
The Aquila II, according to Reuters, departed Venezuelan waters in early January carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil. U.S. Officials stated the vessel was operating in defiance of Trump’s “quarantine” of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. “It ran, and we followed,” a Pentagon spokesperson said.
Footage released by the Pentagon depicts heavily armed U.S. Soldiers raiding the tanker from a helicopter, underscoring the lengths to which the U.S. Is willing to go to enforce the blockade. “No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain,” the Pentagon declared. “By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us.”
The seizure is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Trump administration to cripple Venezuela’s oil industry, a key source of revenue for the South American nation. Critics have condemned the actions as “theft” and “international piracy,” particularly following the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in December and his subsequent transport to New York to face charges related to drugs and weapons.
The Aquila II’s journey took it from the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean, reportedly with a destination of China, according to Bloomberg. The tanker was intercepted while heading towards the Sunda Strait, between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra.
This latest seizure builds on a pattern of U.S. Intervention that began in December, with at least seven Venezuela-linked oil tankers boarded and seized by U.S. Forces since then. Washington maintains these tankers were carrying oil subject to U.S. Sanctions. The Aquila II itself had previously been sanctioned for its involvement in the Russian oil trade following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Actions are part of “Operation Southern Spear,” an American effort aimed at disrupting drug trafficking in the Caribbean. However, the scope of the operation has expanded to include aggressively targeting Venezuela’s oil exports.
Following Maduro’s removal, Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez signed a law last month to open up the country’s oil sector to foreign investment. Despite this move, U.S. Forces have continued to intercept and seize Venezuelan oil shipments. Trump and his administration have openly discussed taking control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, with some officials falsely claiming ownership of the country’s crude.
“One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” Trump told oil executives in January, shortly after Maduro’s abduction. Since then, Venezuela has transferred tens of millions of barrels of oil to the U.S. As part of an energy deal, receiving $300 million in payment last month, with some reports suggesting a full payment of $500 million.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright indicated plans to visit Venezuela soon to “start the dialogue” with Caracas regarding the future leadership of PDVSA, the state oil company, signaling a potential shift in strategy even as enforcement of the oil blockade continues.
