The Trump administration’s seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela is one of the most dramatic twists yet in a military pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela’s foreign affairs minister denounced the seizure, calling it a “blatant theft” and “an act of international piracy.”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday held a second meeting in 17 days with the Venezuelan ambassador to Russia, at a time of mounting pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump for the removal of Venezuela's president,

President Donald Trump has said Nicolás Maduro’s “days are numbered” as the country’s leader and declined to rule out deploying U.S. troops on the ground there.

In a wide-ranging interview with Politico, Trump also said Russia has the upper hand in negotiations over its war with Ukraine and called European leaders "weak."

The president told POLITICO on Monday that he wouldn’t rule out a ground invasion of the South American country.

President Trump says destroying drug boats is saving Americans' lives. But Venezuela is linked to cocaine, which is far less deadly than fentanyl.

Oil rises in the early Asian session amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. The U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Trump said Wednesday. A Pentagon official said the move was a warning to other tankers waiting to dock and load up Venezuelan crude.