US military boards sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after pursuit from the Caribbean

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By BEN FINLEY, MICHAEL BIESECKER and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
Updated 7:19 PM CST, February 9, 2026
Leer en español

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the ship from the Caribbean Sea as part of an oil quarantine meant to squeeze Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday.

Venezuela had faced U.S. sanctions on its oil and relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. Following the U.S. raid to apprehend then-President Nicolás Maduro in early January, several tankers fled the Venezuelan coast, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overnight.

Hegseth vowed to eventually capture all those ships, telling a group of shipyard workers in Maine on Monday that “the only guidance I gave to my military commanders is none of those are getting away.”

“I don’t care if we got to go around the globe to get them; we’re going to get them,” he added.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-oil-tanker-boarded-sanctions-trump-4f414338f38aad774ce732ddd1ac7796

[Lovie777]

1. Other counties can't control their oil tankers?...................

[Bayard]

2. Wait a minute

Wasn't Venezuela vanquished? I guess if their oil isn't going to the U.S., its going to be seized and re-routed to the U.S. anyway. And they don't get paid for it. That will sure help their busted economy.