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The US has seized a vessel in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, US officials have told BBC News partner CBS.<\/p>\n
It is the second time this month that the US has seized a ship off the country’s coast. <\/p>\n
The move comes after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was ordering a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.<\/p>\n
Venezuela has not yet responded to the latest US seizure, but has previously accused Washington of seeking to steal its oil resources. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.<\/p>\n
The operation was led by the US Coast Guard, similar to the operation earlier this month, CBS reports. The ship was boarded by a specialised tactical team.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, the US has been building up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.<\/p>\n
The US has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.<\/p>\n
The US has accused Venezuela President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of leading a designated-terrorist organisation called Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration accuses him of and the group of using “stolen” oil to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping”.<\/p>\n
Venezuela – which is home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves – is highly dependent on revenues from its oil exports to finance its government spending.<\/p>\n
Trump’s announcement of a “blockade” came less than a week after the US seized an oil tanker believed to be part of the “ghost fleet” off the coast of Venezuela, which allegedly used various strategies to conceal its work.<\/p>\n
The White House said the vessel in question, called the Skipper, had been involved in “illicit oil shipping” and would be taken to a US port.<\/p>\n