US forces board Venezuela-linked tanker in Indian Ocean

U.S. military forces boarded a crude oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, accusing the ship of violating a blockade on sanctioned ships traveling to or from Venezuela.

In a post on

“He ran and we followed him.”

pic.twitter.com/sh8J61RC8Y— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 9, 2026

After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in Caracas last month, the United States increased the blockade of sanctioned ships going to and from the South American country, which is a member of the OPEC oil producers group.

Suezmax tanker Aquila II left Venezuelan waters in early January as part of a flotilla of ships.

It was carrying about 700,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude oil bound for China, according to schedules from state company PDVSA.

Most of the tankers in the fleet returned to Venezuela or were captured by the United States.

Hegseth said the Aquila II was operating in violation of the U.S. “quarantine of sanctioned ships in the Caribbean.”

“The War Department tracked and hunted this ship from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean… You will run out of fuel long before it escapes us,” he wrote.

It was unclear where the Aquila II was registered, according to maritime databases.