Additional Coverage:
- U.S. military boards third oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean (nbcnews.com)
U.S. Forces Intercept Third Tanker in Global Effort Against Illicit Oil Trade
WASHINGTON – In a significant move targeting illicit oil operations linked to Venezuela, U.S. military forces have successfully boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker, the Bertha, in the Indian Ocean. The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that the vessel had been tracked all the way from the Caribbean Sea.
U.S. Southern Command announced via social media that the operation involved a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding” of the Bertha overnight.
The command stated that the tanker was “operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and attempted to evade.” Their message concluded with a firm declaration: “From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, we tracked it and stopped it.”
For several years, Venezuela’s oil sector has been under U.S. sanctions, leading to a reliance on a covert fleet of tankers that use false flags to smuggle crude into international markets. In December, President Donald Trump imposed a quarantine on sanctioned tankers, an initiative aimed at pressuring then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro was subsequently apprehended in January during a U.S. military operation.
The Bertha, flagged to the Cook Islands, is also subject to U.S. sanctions related to Iran, according to information from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Pentagon released video footage depicting U.S. military helicopters approaching the tanker during the operation.
The Trump administration, a Republican government, has been actively seizing tankers as part of its broader strategy to gain control over Venezuela’s oil assets. While the Pentagon’s announcement detailed the boarding, it did not specify whether the Bertha has been formally seized and placed under U.S. control.
Maduro is currently in the U.S., facing charges of conspiring with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of substantial quantities of cocaine into the country. He has entered a plea of not guilty.