The US military has boarded its second oil tanker in the Indian Ocean this week. The Panamanian-flagged vessel, Veronica III, was tracked from the Caribbean Sea. The US suspected it was helping Venezuela avoid sanctions. The Pentagon said in a statement, "Distance does not protect you," along with video and photos of the raid. This operation is part of a strict US crackdown on Venezuela's sanctioned oil exports. At least seven Venezuelan oil tankers have been seized by the US since last year. The Pentagon described the latest action as "a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding." It did not confirm if the ship was seized or allowed to continue. The Pentagon added, "The vessel tried to defy President Trump's quarantine - hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this. International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice." The Veronica III is under sanctions from the US Treasury Department. It left Venezuela on January 3 with 1.9 million barrels of crude oil. TankerTrackers.com says the ship has carried Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil since 2023. Last week, the US also boarded and inspected another tanker, Aquila II, after tracking it to the Indian Ocean. President Donald Trump announced in December a "blockade" of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. Venezuelan officials described this move as "theft." The blockade has sharply reduced Venezuela's oil exports. Only Chevron-associated ships headed for the US operate normally. Matt Smith, head of US analysis at Kpler, said loadings dropped by half in January to about 400,000 barrels per day.