Last month the Trump administration made people from 19 nations ineligible to obtain legal status. “Fear won,” said one woman who came from Venezuela nearly a decade ago.

Trump claimed during his Tuesday evening declaration that the Venezuelan officials had stolen the oil in question from the US, writing that Maduro’s government needs to “return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”

The Trump administration plans to hold the oil tanker it seized in waters near Venezuela at an American port in Texas but release the crew once the vessel docks, according to two U.S. officials. The officials said the tanker was seized in international waters.

While Democrats and some Republicans have objected to the attack and some have even suggested it might be a war crime, the veteran Navy SEAL says it is manufactured outrage.

The gang, which was the subject of charges brought in several states, is President Trump’s chosen nemesis. The defendant remains at large.

The US seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker this week could worsen Cuba's already shaky energy situation and sparks new regional tensions.

Where and how to watch “Status: Venezuelan” “Status: Venezuelan” is available to watch on ProPublica ’s YouTube channels, pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS App and on the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel.

Venezuela's bitumen-heavy oil is virtually identical to Canada's and the South American country has the largest proven reserves in the world. But Venezuelan oil has essentially disappeared from world markets over the past 20 years.