The United States is preparing to intercept more ships carrying Venezuelan oil, following the seizure of a tanker this week, six sources familiar with the matter say.

The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo tanker from Venezuela, which has been under US sanctions since 2019.

In a bid to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the US has built a large-scale military presence in the southern Caribbean and issued new sanctions.

The release, which contains photographs of Trump, former President Bill Clinton and other prominent figures, comes amid next week's deadline for the Justice Department to give what files it has on Epstein to Congress.
WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Friday released a second batch of images from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's estate.

The images include pictures of Epstein with a number of high-profile figures, including President Donald Trump, longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, former President Bill Clinton, former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, movie director Woody Allen, billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson and prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz. They do not appear to show illegal activity by these individuals.