President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid mounting tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

It’s the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S.

Trump told reporters at the White House the tanker “was seized for a very good reason.” When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A day earlier, the U.S. military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country’s airspace since the start of the administration’s pressure campaign.

Trump has previously said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location.
Source: AP