US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that his administration had increased its force on Nicolas Maduro's state by intercepting and seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

At the start of a roundtable discussion with business leaders at the White House, he declared," We just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. It's a great ship, a very large ship, the biggest ever seized, actually. "

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Bloomberg had only reported that a vessel sanctioned by the US had been detained in waters close to Venezuela hours prior.

Trump said it was an "interesting day" but declined to provide more details. He also made hints that more information, including photos, would be made available, but he did not give a deadline. They'll talk about it later with the appropriate people. No, it was not taken for a very good reason, he continued. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's days were numbered, according to Trump, who announced the seizure after he told Politico in an interview released on Tuesday. He also declined to comment on whether the United States might send troops there. Venezuela's Exports Are Seized Another Obstacle to Venezuela's already constrained ability to compete with other countries for its oil on the global stage According to experts, the operation may avert the intimidation of other carriers, who might be hesitant to operate routes connected to PDVSA out of fear of reprisals or additional sanctions. Although Venezuela's oil industry is subject to stringent regulations, state-owned PDVSA still runs joint drilling operations with American Chevron, which is exempt from direct sanctions by the Treasury Department.

Coincidence with the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Maria Corina Machado

The announcement comes on the same day as Oslo celebrated the Nobel Peace Prize's presentation to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. She did not attend the ceremony but promised to be arriving in the Norwegian capital in the coming hours.

The award has gotten more international attention for the country's political and humanitarian situation as well as for the conflict between Washington and Caracas.

Washington puts more pressure on the military and the courts.

The Trump administration asserts that Nicolas Maduro is the head of a criminal organization associated with the so-called" Cartel of the Suns," a claim Caracas categorically rejects.

The U. S. Armed Forces have reported the deaths of dozens of crew members during the operations that occurred in the Caribbean and the Pacific since September, including those that were suspected of being drug shipments.

For his part, Maduro has urged people to enlist in popular militias and get ready for what he described as a direct threat of invasion.

Controversy over one of the Caribbean attacks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been subject to scrutiny for a September 2 ship attack that included a second hit and left two survivors of the initial attack dead. Critics have questioned whether the double hit was a war crime.

Hegseth defended the attack, claiming that he had not seen the survivors himself before approuving a second strike, citing the "fog of war. "

Legislatives from both the House of Representatives and the Senate have launched inquiries into the administration's actions against these ships.

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