President Donald Trump said Monday the US remains in active pursuit of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, more than 24 hours after the chase began, while repeating his threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“It’s moving along and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump told CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg during remarks in Palm Beach.
He said the ship “came from the wrong location, it came out of Venezuela,” though the vessel — called Bella 1 — was in fact sailing toward Venezuela when the US Coast Guard attempted to interdict it.
The US has intercepted two other tankers off the coast of Venezuela this month. Those interdictions have come amid a massive US naval buildup in the Caribbean Sea as Trump applies pressure on Maduro, including attempts to cut off his oil revenues.
Trump on Monday declined to answer a question about his endgame in Venezuela, even as he again raised the threat of land strikes and said it’d be “smart” for Maduro to step down.
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