Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced approval of a new law aimed at guaranteeing freedom of navigation and international trade.

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 U.S. is 'in active pursuit' of an oil tanker after President Donald Trump announced a total blockade of Venezuela's oil exports.

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was called to discuss the US seizure of two tankers.

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.

Tanker loading in Venezuela dwindled on Monday, following U.S. action against two more ships and as state-run energy company PDVSA struggles to recover from a cyberattack.

A Venezuela-bound vessel fled after rebuffing an attempt by the Coast Guard to seize it, the latest twist in the escalating U.S. pressure campaign against the Maduro government.

Oil advanced as President Donald Trump intensified a blockade on Venezuela, with US forces boarding one tanker and pursuing another within weeks of capturing a vessel.

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials told Reuters, in what would be the third such operation in less than two weeks if successful.

The campaign to topple President Nicolás Maduro is stranding Venezuelans around the world, compounding the misery of a beleaguered population.

The government of the oil-rich nation took control of its petroleum industry in 1976, nationalizing hundreds of private businesses and foreign-owned assets.

The United States told the United Nations on Tuesday it will impose and enforce sanctions "to the maximum extent" to deprive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of resources as Russia warned other Latin American countries could be next.