US Forces Board Vessel 'Operating in Defiance' of Trump's Quarantine: 'It Ran, and We Followed'
American forces on Monday boarded an oil tanker that the U.S. had chased from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean as part of its ban on oil tankers shipping banned oil.
The tanker fled Venezuela after U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, according to The Associated Press.
President Donald Trump has imposed a quarantine on tankers sailing from Venezuela.
“When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world,” the War Department said in a statement on the social media platform X.
“Overnight, U.S. military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility,” the statement said.
The post showed troops descending from a helicopter to the deck of the ship.
When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world.
Overnight, U.S. military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the… pic.twitter.com/kYVAQC5io9
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 9, 2026
“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It ran, and we followed,” the post said.
“The Department of War tracked and hunted this vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean. 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. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us.
“The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies the ability to defy American power in the global maritime domain,” the post said.
According to the AP, the Pentagon declined to identify which specific U.S. forces were involved in the operation.
A Pentagon representative said the U.S. will pursue vessels for however long it takes.
“The successful interdiction of the Aquila II underscores the unmatched reach and resolve of the United States military under President Trump’s and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said, according to Fox News.
“As we’ve publicly stated, our quarantine measures are ironclad, and no vessel defying them can evade justice, whether in the Caribbean or the far reaches of the Indian Ocean,” he said.
“The Department of War will continue to project power across every domain to safeguard our homeland and deter illicit actors worldwide,” Wilson said.
The Aquila II is under Amercian sanctions related to shipping banned Russian oil, AP reported.
In Maine on Monday, Hegseth told dockworkers the United States will capture any ships that defy the U.S. quarantine of Venezuela, according to the AP.
“I don’t care if we got to go around the globe to get them, we’re going to get them,” he said.
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