Donald Trump said the United States will store or sell crude oil contained on tankers it seized off the coast of Venezuela, as well as the vessels themselves.
The US president's comments come as Washington continues to put pressure on the South American country's leader Nicolas Maduro to resign.
Speaking to reporters in Florida on Monday, Trump said of oil that “we're going to keep it,” adding: “Maybe we'll sell it, maybe we'll keep it. Maybe we will use it in strategic reserves. We also preserve ships.”
The Trump administration has accused Venezuela of using oil revenues to finance drug crimes, and Caracas has denounced drug seizures as “piracy.”
The US military has two oil tankers were hijacked this monthincluding one on Saturday.
Trump issued his final warning to the US Coast Guard continued to pursue the third oil tankerwhich authorities have described as part of Venezuela's “dark fleet” used to evade US sanctions.
“It's moving forward, and we'll get there eventually,” Trump said.
Separately on Monday, the US military said it had struck a suspected smuggling vessel in international waters in the eastern Pacific. US Southern Command said one person was killed.
When asked if the takeover was intended to remove Maduro from power, Trump responded: “Well, I think it probably will… It's up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do this. But again, we'll figure it out.”
The US is increasing its military presence in the Pacific and Caribbean Seas and carrying out deadly strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug smuggling vessels, killing about 100 people.
It has provided no public evidence that the ships were carrying drugs, and the military has come under intense scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.
Speaking on Monday, Trump repeated that the United States intends to strike at ground targets as well.
He said: “We will start the same program on land. If they want to come by land, they will end up in big trouble. They will be blown to pieces because we don’t want our people to be poisoned.”
Speaking on state television, Maduro responded to Trump, saying: “He would be better off in his own country, dealing with economic and social issues, and the world would be better off if he focused on the affairs of his own country.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro's capture, accusing him of being “one of the biggest drug traffickers in the world.”
The Trump administration has designated Maduro's government a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and last week ordered a “blockade” of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
Because the Venezuelan government relies heavily on oil exports to finance government spending, the latest measures have sparked outrage among officials in Caracas.
At Venezuela's request, the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss what the government has called “ongoing US aggression.”
