Venezuela's National Assembly has approved a measure criminalizing activities that hinder navigation and commerce, like the seizure of oil tankers.

The Bella 1, an oil tanker far larger than any Coast Guard ship, has been fleeing the U.S. blockade of sanctioned vessels heading in and out of Venezuela. Sanctioned for allegedly shipping oil to U.S.

The United States hasn’t given up its pursuit of the massive, rusted oil tanker it chased into international waters near Venezuela last weekend, and officials are now contemplating moving additional resources into the area to forcibly board the ship,

President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. is still actively pursuing an oil tanker linked to Venezuela, but that he's confident the vessel will be seized.

The pursuit of the tanker, off the coast of Venezuela, is the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than a week.

President Donald Trump has revealed that the United States carried out a strike on a drug boat loading facility inside Venezuela — a move that could mark the first known U.S. land operation in the country since Washington intensified pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.

They have a big plant or a big facility where the ships come from. Two nights ago, we knocked that out. We hit them very hard.”

President Trump said during a recent radio interview that the U.S. “knocked out” a “big” facility in Venezuela, as the administration continues to turn up the pressure against President Nicolás Maduro.