The US Coast Guard is still in pursuit of the sanctioned oil tanker more than a week after the US first tried to intercept the vessel. It’s the latest development in President Donald Trump’s campaign to pressure Venezuela, after he suggested the United States had “hit” a port off the coast.

The New York Times, citing two US officials, he reported on Tuesday that the tanker tried to request Russian protection by painting the Russian flag on the side of the ship.

British maritime risk management group Vanguard, along with a US maritime security source, identified the ship as the Bella 1, a very large crude oil carrier that was added to the US Treasury sanctions list last year, which said the ship was linked to Iran.

On Dec. 22, Trump confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard was chasing a tanker the administration described as part of a “dark fleet” used by Venezuela to evade U.S. sanctions. It was the second such operation to take place that weekend.

Trump says the US struck a dock in Venezuela

The ongoing high seas chase comes days after the US targeted a facility in Venezuela where Trump said ships were loaded with drugs, the first known time Washington has conducted ground operations inside Venezuela since the pressure campaign began.

Trump initially appeared to confirm the attack in what appeared to be an impromptu radio interview on Friday, and when questioned by reporters on Monday about the “explosion in Venezuela”, he said the US had hit a facility where “loading” ships accused of transporting drugs.

“There was a big explosion in the dock area, where they load the ships with drugs,” Trump said in Florida when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They fill the ships with drugs, so we hit all the ships and now we hit the area. That’s the implementation area. Where they implement. And that’s gone.”

CNN, citing sources, reported Monday that the CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela.

The strike targeted a remote port that the US believed was being used by the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang to store drugs and transfer them to ships for onward transport, according to CNN.

Trump declined to say whether the US military or the CIA carried out the attack, when or where it happened.

The US military also said it carried out another attack on a ship accused of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing two people. The attacks have killed at least 107 people in 30 attacks since early September, according to figures released by the Trump administration.

WATCH | Why a US ground invasion of Venezuela would be a disaster:

Why a US ground invasion of Venezuela would be a disaster | About that

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are escalating as the US continues to attack alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling ships and signals the possibility of a land invasion. Andrew Chang breaks down the geographic, logistical and political challenges involved in elevating the conflict to this level. Images courtesy of The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images

The Venezuelan government’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Military strengthening

In October, Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. The agency did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.

In addition to the attacks, the US sent warships, built up military forces in the region and seized two oil tankers before the current pursuit of Bella 1.

The Trump administration has said it is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and is trying to stop the flow of narcotics into the United States.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has insisted that the real purpose of the US military operations is to oust him from power.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair published this month that Trump “wants to keep raising ships until Maduro ‘cries uncle.'”