U.S. forces stop a 2nd merchant vessel off Venezuela coast, officials say

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces on Saturday stopped a vessel off the coast of Venezuela for the second time in less than two weeks as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The move, which was confirmed by two U.S. officials familiar with matter, comes days after Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of the South American country and follows the Dec. 10 seizure by American forces of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

The officials were not authorized to discuss publicly the ongoing military operation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The action was described as a “consented boarding,” with the tanker stopping voluntarily and allowing U.S. forces to board it, one official said.

The Pentagon and White House officials did not immediately respond to a requests for comment.

Trump earlier this month announced that Coast Guard had seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea and vowed that the U.S. would carry out a blockade of Venezuela. It all comes as Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Maduro and warned that the longtime Venezuelan leader’s days in power are numbered.

Trump this week demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a “blockade” against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions.

Trump cited the lost U.S. investments in Venezuela when asked about his newest tactic in a pressure campaign against Maduro, suggesting the Republican administration’s moves are at least somewhat motivated by disputes over oil investments, along with accusations of drug trafficking. Some sanctioned tankers already are diverting away from Venezuela.

“We’re not going to be letting anybody going through who shouldn’t be going through,” Trump told reporters. “You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They took it — they illegally took it.”