US authorities on Friday unsealed the warrant for an oil tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela decried as "international piracy" by Caracas.

President Donald Trump's administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months, with a major naval buildup in the region that has been accompanied by deadly strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats, killing nearly 90 people.

In a dramatic raid this week that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at Maduro's "regime," Washington took control of the tanker, with US forces roping down from a helicopter onto the vessel.

The warrant, signed by a magistrate judge on November 25, was carried out Wednesday by the US Coast Guard.

The US Treasury Department said the vessel, dubbed the Skipper and formerly called the Adisa, was

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