According to Reuters, the US Navy move comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not say where the operation was taking place but added the Coast Guard was in the lead.
The Coast Guard and Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuela's oil ministry and state oil company PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
"I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela," Trump said on Tuesday.
In the days since U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, there has been an effective embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure.
Since the first seizure, Venezuelan crude exports have fallen sharply, Reuters' report claimed.
MNA
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