The US military boarded an oil tanker after tracking it for thousands of miles from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, the Department of Defense said.
US officials said the ship - named Aquila II - was operating in defiance of a US "quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean".
"It ran, and we followed", the department said on social media, adding that "by land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice".
Forces boarded and inspected the ship, officials said. At least seven oil tankers have been seized by the US since last year, as the Trump administration moves to control the supply of Venezuelan oil, the country's main economic resource.
The US military seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his home in Caracas during a raid in December and implemented a blockade of oil shipments.
