Donald Trump has said the US will keep or sell the crude oil contained on tankers it has seized off the coast of Venezuela, as well as the vessels themselves. The US president's comments came as Washington continues to pressure the South American country's leader Nicolas Maduro to stand down.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. Coast Guard steps up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Republican administration’s escalating pressure campaign on the government in Caracas.

The U.S. Coast Guard over the weekend was “in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” an official told ABC News. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order,” the official said at the time.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is leaving the possibility of war with Venezuela on the table. "I don't rule it out, no," he told NBC News' Kristen Welker in a phone interview. It comes after the president ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers coming and going from Venezuela.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump told NBC News that war remains possible with Venezuela, a country whose leadership he labeled a terrorist regime and which he has targeted militarily because of alleged drug smuggling. "I don’t rule it out, no," Trump told NBC on Dec. 18 in a phone interview.

The administration’s death toll from strikes on alleged drug boats crests 100 as it ratchets up a unilateral blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.

President Trump’s Venezuela blockade threat sparked confusion. This article explains the overlooked legal and energy context behind his claims—and why it matters now.

Venezuela said in response to the announced blockade that it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat.” Venezuela deployed its navy to escort tankers leaving the country’s main oil port from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, following Trump’s announcement, according to the New York Times.

Is it oil, drugs, immigrants or politics? President Trump's explanations of his animosity for Venezuela are hard to keep straight.