White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the U.S. government "does intend to seize the oil" from a tanker that U.S. forces took Wednesday off the coast of Venezuela.

Speaking at the White House press briefing Thursday, Leavitt said the Justice Department had received a warrant to take the tanker because it's a sanctioned vessel used to carry "black market" oil.

She said the U.S. has an investigative team on the tanker. The team is interviewing the people aboard the ship and collecting any relevant evidence.

Leavitt said the U.S. government will follow the legal process required to seize the available oil and wouldn't rule out future tanker seizures.

Asked if the incident Wednesday was a one-off or if the U.S. might take similar actions in the future, Leavitt said she wouldn’t broadcast future military plans.

But she added, “We're not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.”

Leavitt added that the Trump administration is “executing on the president's sanctions policies" and defending the sanctions policies of the U.S.