According to a statement released via social media, the vessel attempted to defy the quarantine imposed by President Trump and was “tracked from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, we closed the distance and stopped it.”

The US agency used the announcement to send a strong message: “International waters are not sanctuaries. By land, air, or sea, we will find them and bring them to justice,” it asserted.

This operation is part of the naval blockade that the United States has maintained on Venezuela since mid-December 2015, with the aim of preventing the export or export of oil considered sanctioned by Washington.

The military deployment, which includes naval, air, and special forces assets, has carried out dozens of maritime interdictions and kinetic attacks against suspected vessels since the operation began.

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