US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Using US forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.
The US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress.
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding that “it was seized for a very good reason”.
Trump did not offer additional details. When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said: “Well, we keep it, I guess”.