Trump: We just seized the largest tanker ever off Venezuela

US president Donald Trump has announced that his country has seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela. He made this statement during a public event that broadcast The White House.

"As you probably know, we just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a big tanker, a very big one. The biggest one we've ever taken, in fact," Trump said.

Earlier, Bloomberg, citing informed sources, wrote that the US military intercepted and seized a sanctioned tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

An unnamed senior Trump administration official said the United States has taken judicial enforcement action against the stateless vessel, which was last docked in Venezuela.

The country's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA and the relevant Venezuelan ministries did not respond to journalists' requests for comment.

Amid the news of the tanker's seizure, international oil prices rose, with Brent rising by 0.8% in London trading.

According to Bloomberg, the US actions could make it much more difficult to export oil from Venezuela, as other carriers are now likely to be less willing to take on the transportation. Most of Venezuela's oil is shipped to China, usually through intermediaries, and at significant discounts due to the risk of sanctions.

The seizure of the vessel came as the US administration stepped up pressure on Venezuela's pro-Russian dictator Nicolás Madurowhom the United States accuses of leading the drug trade. Thus, the Pentagon has carried out more than 20 strikes on ships that America claims were involved in drug trafficking in the waters near Venezuela and Colombia, killing more than 80 suspects.

Trump has repeatedly hinted that the United States could strike on land, and that Maduro's "days are numbered".

• On December 6, Reuters reported that the US pressure campaign against Venezuela has made some members of the Cuban regime look to America for a vision of what the region would be like without dictator Maduro at the head of this country.