The Trump administration plans to seize the oil aboard a tanker captured near Venezuela this week, the White House said Thursday, calling the ship a "sanctioned shadow" vessel associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The recent seizure of an oil tanker known as Skipper by the U.S. off the coast of Venezuela marks a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump’s campaign to choke off Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s access to oil revenues.

Russia and Venezuela has condemned the United States for it seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker this week. Follow Newsweek live.

The Trump administration on Thursday reportedly renewed a license for oil major Chevron (CVX) to continue pumping oil in Venezuela. According to a Bloomberg report, citing sources familiar with the matter,

Using U.S. forces to take control of a merchant ship is unusual and marks the Trump administration's latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism.