President Donald Trump says the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

The escalation targeting President Nicolás Maduro revives a Cold War playbook that had severe and lasting consequences for Latin American democracies and economies.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laurate María Corina Machado has arrived in Oslo, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, hours after her daughter accepted this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in the Norwegian capital.

OSLO, Norway — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado 's daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf Wednesday, hours after officials said Machado would miss the ceremony.

President Donald Trump said US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, escalating tensions with the regime of Nicolás Maduro. “As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said at a White House event on Wednesday.

Two U.S. fighter jets conducted a 30-minute training flight over waters north of Venezuela, marking increased military activity in the region.

President Trump says destroying drug boats is saving Americans' lives. But Venezuela is linked to cocaine, which is far less deadly than fentanyl.