By Kevin Liptak, CNN<\/p>\n
(CNN) \u2014 Personnel from the United States boarded and seized a vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, according to a US official familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure<\/a> on Caracas.<\/p>\n It was the second known instance of the US interdicting a vessel near Venezuela this month and comes after Trump announced this week a \u201cblockade\u201d of sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of the country. The US seized a large oil tanker<\/a> called the Skipper, which had been under sanctions for its ties to Iran, on December 10.<\/p>\n While Trump\u2019s directive this week targeted sanctioned tankers, the vessel the US seized Saturday is not under US sanctions, the official said. The seizure wasn\u2019t contested by the tanker\u2019s crew.<\/p>\n The vessel was a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, according to the official, and was ultimately destined for Asia.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s operation was led by the US Coast Guard, with assistance from the US military, and it occurred in international waters, the official said.<\/p>\n Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency includes the Coast Guard, posted a seven-minute video to social media<\/a> Saturday afternoon showing a helicopter hovering over the tanker. She wrote that the tanker was apprehended in \u201cpredawn action\u201d by the Coast Guard with support from the Defense Department and that it was last docked in Venezuela.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s foreign minister, meanwhile, announced Saturday that Iran offered its cooperation to confront what he described as \u201cacts of piracy\u201d and \u201cinternational terrorism\u201d by the US government.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Telegram that he spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to review bilateral relations and discuss \u201crecent developments in the Caribbean, especially threats\u201d and the \u201ctheft of ships loaded with Venezuelan oil.\u201d<\/p>\n Gil said Tehran expressed \u201cfull solidarity\u201d with Venezuela and offered cooperation \u201cin all areas\u201d to confront US actions, which he said violate international law.<\/p>\n Combined with Trump\u2019s threats of land strikes<\/a> on Venezuelan soil, the seizures of vessels have ratcheted up pressure on Caracas by going after its economic lifeline, which had already come under strain after new sanctions on the oil sector earlier this year.<\/p>\n The US is now months into its pressure campaign on Venezuela that has included moving thousands of troops and a carrier strike group into the Caribbean, strikes on suspected drug boats and repeated threats against President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n The US military has killed 104 people in strikes<\/a> that have destroyed 29 alleged drug boats, attacks that the Trump administration has sold as an effort to crack down on illegal flows of drugs and migrants from Venezuela. But its actions have also pointed to a sweeping pressure campaign on Maduro \u2014 whose ouster White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has suggested<\/a> is the administration\u2019s real goal.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s announcement this week of a \u201cblockade\u201d also underscored the president\u2019s focus on the country\u2019s oil, which he has said the US should have access to if Maduro is ousted. State-owned Petr\u00f3leos de Venezuela controls the country\u2019s petroleum industry. Houston-based Chevron is the only US firm drilling in Venezuela and pays a percentage of its output to PDVSA under a sanctions carve-out.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s oil reserves are the world\u2019s largest but operate well below capacity due to international sanctions. Much of the country\u2019s oil is sold to China.<\/p>\n Venezuela slammed the blockade earlier this week, calling it \u201ca reckless and serious threat.\u201d It said it would continue to defend its sovereignty and national interests.<\/p>\n Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez said in a statement Saturday that the country \u201crejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel transporting Venezuelan oil\u201d and that it \u201cwill take all appropriate actions, including reporting this to the United Nations Security Council, other multilateral organizations, and the governments of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n This story has been updated with additional information.<\/p>\n CNN\u2019s Alessandra Freitas and Mauricio Torres contributed to this report.<\/p>\n The-CNN-Wire
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