A US helicopter flies low over a hazy blue sea as it approaches a massive ship. It hovers as camouflaged soldiers holding rifles swing down ropes to the vessel’s deck.
The video, released by the US government, shows the latest in a series of escalations in Washington’s pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro’s government – the seizure of a crude oil tanker.
The US claims the tanker is used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran in an “illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations”.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil has called the seizure “international piracy” and claims US President Donald Trump wants Venezuela’s energy resources.