After days of escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela, President Donald Trump issued a new warning Tuesday aimed directly at Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, signaling that Washington is prepared to further intensify pressure on Caracas.

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

Republican lawmakers are divided over whether President Trump should escalate military pressure on Venezuela to oust President Nicolás Maduro, with some Republicans warning that “regime

The pursuit of the tanker, off the coast of Venezuela, is the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than a week.

President Trump unveiled a new shipbuilding initiative alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Navy Secretary John Phelan this afternoon, as tensions spike in

Maduro’s government has called the U.S. behavior “theft” and “an act of international piracy,” and filed a complaint with the United Nations Security Council. Maduro also ordered the Venezuelan navy to escort tankers headed to Asia.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he has spoken to U.S. oil companies about what happens next after regime change in Venezuela.