US seizes second oil tanker as Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro

President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida (Alex Brandon/AP)

US forces on Saturday stopped an oil tanker 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 Nicolas Maduro.

The pre-dawn operation comes days after Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of the South American country and follows the December 10 seizure by American forces of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.