The U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker has been described as a " significant," even " dramatic," escalation of President Donald Trump's campaign to pressure Nicolás Maduro, the country's dictator, out of office-but this isn't quite the case. The seizure might serve as part of a rationale for regime change, which Trump has been advocating, in part through aggressive rhetoric, in part by deploying military forces to the Caribbean, including more than 15,000 troops and a dozen warships, including an aircraft carrier.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Using U.S. forces to seize an oil tanker is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration's latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.