WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- US military forces boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea, as part of Washington's efforts to enforce an oil quarantine targeting Venezuela, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday.

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The tanker, Aquila II, was intercepted after fleeing Venezuelan waters following a US operation earlier this year that led to the removal of then-president Nicolas Maduro. According to US officials, the ship was among several vessels that departed the Venezuelan coast in an attempt to evade sanctions enforcement.

Venezuela has long faced US sanctions on its oil sector and has relied on a shadow fleet ...