Washington: US forces intercepted an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast on Saturday for the second time in under two weeks, intensifying President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The pre-dawn action followed Trump's recent declaration of a “blockade” on sanctioned oil tankers entering or exiting the South American nation, coming after the December 10 seizure of another tanker by American personnel.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem verified that the US Coast Guard, aided by the Defence Department, halted the tanker last docked in Venezuela. She shared on social media an unclassified video of a US helicopter deploying personnel onto the vessel named Centuries.

A Panama-flagged crude oil tanker was recently tracked near Venezuela's waters via MarineTraffic, which monitors global vessel movements using public data. Its sanction status remained unclear immediately.

“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” Noem posted on X. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”

A US official, speaking anonymously without public authorisation, described it as a “consented boarding,” with the tanker halting willingly for US boarding.

Pentagon and White House officials offered no immediate comment requests.

Venezuela's government Saturday branded the US forces' moves “criminal” and pledged no impunity through legal channels, including UN Security Council complaints.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically denounces and rejects the theft and hijacking of another private vessel transporting Venezuelan oil, as well as the enforced disappearance of its crew, perpetrated by United States military personnel in international waters,” the statement read.

After the prior Skipper tanker capture this month, Trump vowed a Venezuela blockade. This escalates his sharpened rhetoric against Maduro, forecasting the leader's ouster.

Trump this week demanded Venezuela restore assets seized from US oil firms years ago, reaffirming his tanker “blockade” rationale.

Trump linked the lost US stakes in Venezuela to his strategy when queried, implying oil investment rows alongside drug trafficking claims motivate moves. Some sanctioned tankers now bypass Venezuela.

"We're not going to be letting anybody going through who shouldn't be going through,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They took it — they illegally took it.”

US oil majors led Venezuela's petroleum sector until nationalisations in the 1970s and 21st century under Maduro and Hugo Chávez. Venezuela's compensation fell short; a 2014 arbitration panel mandated a USD1.6 billion payout to ExxonMobil.

Tanker targeting aligns with Trump's Defence Department orders for Caribbean and eastern Pacific strikes on alleged fentanyl and drug smugglers into the US and elsewhere.

At least 104 fatalities marked 28 known strikes since early September.

US lawmakers and rights groups criticise scant proof of drug links and deem fatal hits extrajudicial killings.

Traditionally, Coast Guard—with Navy aid—interdicted Caribbean drug suspects, inspected cargo, and prosecuted crews.

The administration defends strikes as “armed conflict” with cartels to stem the US narcotics flow. Maduro faces US narcoterrorism charges.

The US recently dispatched warships regionally—the largest buildup in decades—with Trump signalling imminent land assaults.

Maduro claims US operations seek his removal.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair this week that Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.”

With inputs from AP