U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 10th (local time) that a large oil tanker was seized off Venezuela.
According to Reuters and others, Trump said at a roundtable event at the White House that day, "As you probably know, we just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela."
He added, "It is a large oil tanker. It's very big. In fact, it is the largest of the seized tankers ever," and said, "Other things are underway, and you will see them later." He did not mention the background of the tanker seizure.
The seizure came as the Trump administration declared a war on Venezuelan drug cartels and deployed the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, the world's largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to the Caribbean near Venezuela, heightening the risk of armed conflict between the two countries.
Some say the move by the Trump administration is intended to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has been pressuring Maduro under the pretext of eradicating drug cartels, and in an interview published the previous day with the U.S. political outlet Politico, he also said of Maduro, "His days are numbered."
Reuters said, "The move pushed up oil prices and is likely to further heighten tensions between the United States and Venezuela." After the news broke, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 21 cents (0.4%) to settle at $58.46 a barrel.