President Donald Trump confirmed on Dec. 10 that the United States seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
While the current U.S. administration says the tanker was used to transport sanctioned crude oil from Venezuela and Iran, Caracas described America’s actions as “international piracy.”
The latest operation added to brewing tensions between Washington and Caracas as the White House continues to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down.
Here’s what to know about the situation.
The Operation
Trump told reporters about the operation, although he stopped short of providing additional details.
“As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” Trump said. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually.”…