How the US is preparing for possible war with Venezuela

Trump had 13 combat vessels in the region by November as Washington piles pressure on beleaguered President Maduro

- JAMES C. REYNOLDS

US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday in a dramatic escalation of hostilities between Washington and Caracas.

Helicopters sent to intercept the vessel had reportedly taken off from the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the region last month in a pointed show of force.

The latest operation, pulling in special forces and US Marines, follows months of sabre-rattling and intimidation from Donald Trump in an attempt to pile pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

But with Mr Maduro unmoved, the US buildup in the Caribbean shows no sign of slowing down as Mr Trump continues to amass gunboats, troops and missiles.

The intervention was endorsed by Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who had flown to Oslo to receive her award in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities and after spending more than a year in hiding.

She has aligned herself with those close to Mr Trump who argue that Mr Maduro has links to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to US national security.

At a news conference in the Norwegian capital yesterday, she was asked if she would support a US invasion of Venezuela and said her country had already been invaded by actors such as Russian and Iranian agents and drug cartels.