The US Department of War conducted a maritime interdiction and boarding of the vessel Veronica III, which tried to defy President Donald Trump’s quarantine, it said on Sunday.
"We defend the homeland forward. Distance does not protect you. Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility," it said in a post on social media.
"We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down," it added. "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 Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain."
(Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; editing by Philippa Fletcher)