U.S. Attorney General's Office/X via AP

The oil tanker seized by the United States near the coast of Venezuela earlier this week is headed to the Houston region, according to multiple national news outlets .

NBC News and Reuters both reported that the tanker – known as the Skipper – is planned to be held at a Houston-area port. The crew will be released upon docking, according to the reports.

The tanker's seizure comes amidst growing tensions between the Trump administration and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.

Francisco Monaldi, the director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the conflict h

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