First Thing: Venezuela decries ‘act of piracy’ after US forces seize oil tanker off country’s coast

The move marks a major escalation of Trump's pressure campaign against Nicolas Maduro. Plus, how Hasan Piker became one of the biggest voices on the US left

Good morning.

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, in a major escalation of Donald Trump's four-month pressure campaign against the South American country's dictator, Nicolas Maduro, whose government called the seizure an act of international piracy".

Where is Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, in all this? The Nobel peace prize winner greeted crowds in Oslo after secretly traveling to Norway following 11 months in hiding in Caracas. She said she backs the US oil tanker seizure, calling it a crucial step to tackle what she says is Maduro's criminal regime.

Do we know who sent the letters? It remains unclear - and Lau said she was told it was unlikely police would find out who was behind them.