US Forces Seize Oil Tanker in Indian Ocean, Accusing It of Breaching Venezuela Blockade

• US military forces boarded the crude oil tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean.
• Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth accused the vessel of violating Washington’s blockade on sanctioned ships linked to Venezuela.
• The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.
• The Department of War tracked the vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, emphasizing US capability to enforce its will globally.
• The tanker left Venezuelan waters in early January carrying 700,000 barrels of heavy crude for Chinese refineries.