A US court released a heavily redacted warrant on Friday that had authorized the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a move Caracas decried as an act of "international piracy" and "blatant theft".

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

In a dramatic raid on Wednesday that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's "regime," Washington took control of the tanker with US forces rappelling down from a helicopter onto the vessel.

The US Coast Guard carried out the warrant, signed by a magistrate judge on November 26, just as it was

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