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The United States has seized a vessel in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, officials told BBC News partner CBS.
This is the second time this month that the United States has seized a ship off the country’s coast.
This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would order a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
Venezuela has yet to respond to the latest U.S. seizure but has previously accused Washington of trying to steal its oil resources.
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.
The operation, led by the U.S. Coast Guard, was similar to one earlier this month, CBS reported. A specialized tactical team boarded the ship.
The United States has been increasing its military presence in the Caribbean in recent weeks and has carried out deadly attacks on ships suspected of smuggling Venezuelan drugs, killing about 100 people.
The United States has provided no public evidence that the ships were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the attacks.
The United States accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a designated terrorist group called the Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.
The Trump administration accuses him and the group of using “stolen” oil to “fund themselves, narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.”
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and the country is highly dependent on oil export revenues to fund its government spending.
Trump’s “blockade” announcement comes less than a week after the United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela believed to be part of a “ghost fleet” that allegedly used a variety of tactics to hide its work.
The White House said the vessel, known as the “Captain,” was involved in “illegal oil shipments” and would be taken to a U.S. port.
Venezuelan government condemns move, Maduro says US ‘kidnapped crew’ and ‘stole’ the ship.
