PresidentDonald Trumpsaid Wednesday that the United States has seized "a very large" oil tanker off the coast ofVenezuelaamid mounting tensions with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

It's the Trump administrations latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. The US has conducted a series of deadly military strikes in the Caribbean Sea and easternPacific Oceanon boats that the Republican administration has alleged are carrying drugs.

Weve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually, Trump told reporters at theWhite House.

Trump said other things are happening, but did not offer additional details, saying he would speak more about it later.

The seizure was carried led by the US Coast Guard and supported by theNavy, according to a US official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that the seizure was conducted under US law enforcement authority.

Venezuela has the worlds largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels a day. Locked out of global oil markets by USsanctions, the state-owned oil company sells most of its output at a steep discount to refiners in China.

The transactions usually involve a complex network of shadowy intermediaries as sanctions scared away more established traders. Many are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy. The buyers deploy ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination.

A day earlier, theUS militaryflew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American countrys airspace since the start of the administrations pressure campaign.

The US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and easternPacific Ocean.

Trump has said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location.

Among the concessions the US has made to Maduro during past negotiations was approval for oil giant Chevron Corp. to resume pumping and exporting Venezuelan oil. The corporations activities in the South American country resulted in a financial lifeline for Maduros government.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Originally published on France24