VIDEO | US military seizes another Venezuela-linked tanker in the Caribbean

Trump has focused his foreign policy in Latin America on Venezuela, initially aiming to push Venezuela's illegitimate president Nicolas Maduro from power. After failing to find a diplomatic solution, Trump ordered US forces to fly into the country to grab him and his wife in a daring overnight raid on January 3.

Since then, Trump has said the US plans to control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely as it seeks to rebuild the country's dilapidated oil industry in a $100 billion plan.

The vessels intercepted in the past have been either under US sanctions or part of a "shadow fleet" of ships that disguise their origins to move oil from major sanctioned producers - Iran, Russia or Venezuela.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese)