The Department of War announced that U.S. military forces “tracked and hunted” a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea.
The Pentagon’s statement via the Department of War’s X account confirmed that it performed a "right-of-visit, maritime interdiction" after the vessel defied a quarantine order on sanctioned ships from the Trump administration.
The Aquila II is one of at least 16 vessels that left the Venezuelan coast after the U.S. military captured Former Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro. The Pentagon did not confirm whether the ship was affiliated with Venezuela, which is facing U.S. sanctions on its crude oil, leading the nation to allegedly depend on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged ships to smuggle oil into global supply chains.
“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” the Pentagon said. “It ran, and we followed,” additionally confirming that forces boarded the Aquila II “without incident.”
"When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world," the statement read.
The Aquila II is a Panamanian-flagged, sanctioned vessel due to its involvement in the shipment of unlawful Russian oil. The ship, which is owned by a company based in Hong Kong, has spent the majority of 2025 with its radio transponder off, a tactic known as “running dark,” which is commonly used by smugglers to remain hidden.
"No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain. By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice," the post said Monday. "You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us,” the statement continued.
As of January, the Trump administration has sought to control the production, refining, and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil reserves since its capture of Maduro.
President Donald Trump has also signed an executive order declaring a national emergency on Cuba while imposing duties on goods from countries that trade or provide oil to the island.
