The U.S. military says it has boarded the Panama-flagged tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean, a move Washington is framing as proof it can enforce Venezuela-related oil sanctions far beyond the Caribbean.
In a statement on Monday, the Pentagon said the vessel had been operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “quarantine” of sanctioned ships and that U.S. forces tracked it from the Caribbean Sea into the Indian Ocean before boarding it.
What the U.S. says happened
Footage released by the Pentagon shows armed U.S. personnel boarding the ship from a helicopter. Officials said the interdiction was part of an ongoing campaign aimed at choking off Venezuela’s crude exports under a sweeping sanctions-and-enforcement push.
According to Reuters, the Aquila II left Venezuelan waters in early January carrying about 700,000 barrels of crude, based on records from Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, and was bound for China.
The operation follows a series of seizures that began in December 2025, when U.S. authorities took action against a sanctioned tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
Maduro’s capture and a new oil law in Caracas
The pressure campaign intensified after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026, a move critics have condemned and that has fueled a wider diplomatic fight over sovereignty and sanctions enforcement.
With Maduro removed from power, Venezuela’s acting leadership has moved quickly to reshape the country’s oil policy. Delcy Rodríguez, now serving as interim president, signed legislation last month designed to open Venezuela’s heavily state-controlled oil sector to greater foreign investment and loosen state control over partnerships in a bid to stabilize the economy and attract capital.
Even with those reforms underway, U.S. forces have continued targeting Venezuelan-linked crude shipments.
Oil transfers, payments, and Washington’s next steps
Since Maduro’s removal, Venezuela has sent large volumes of oil to the United States under an energy arrangement that Trump administration officials have described as a path to easing prices. Reuters has reported Trump said Venezuela would turn over roughly 30–50 million barrels as part of the deal.
Rodríguez said Venezuela initially received $300 million from oil sales to the U.S. A U.S. official later said Venezuela ultimately received the full $500 million, with the remaining $200 million transferred afterward.
Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Politico he plans to visit Venezuela soon to “start the dialogue” with Caracas — including discussions about the future leadership of PDVSA.