The U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, a major escalation that coincided with a rise in oil prices.
President Donald Trump confirmed the seizure during a roundtable with business leaders at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, with officials later claiming that the vessel was being used to transport oil in violation of U.S. sanctions from both Iran and Venezuela.
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually,” Trump told reporters before the event began Wednesday afternoon.