A newly unsealed warrant shows the U.S. Coast Guard seized the M/T Skipper, a crude oil tanker intercepted off Venezuela, just before the warrant was set to expire on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The move comes as the Trump administration layers on new U.S. sanctions against Venezuelan oil shipping networks and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro's inner circle, aiming to raise the risks for companies moving the country's crude. • The sanctions escalate the Trump administration's campaign to choke off what it calls illicit oil flows tied to Iran and Maduro's government in Caracas.

Driving the news: The warrant, signed by U.S. magistrate judge Zia Faruqui on Nov. 26, was obtained under federal law that authorizes seizure of all assets "engaged in planning or perpetrating any Federal crime of

See Full Page