US Intensifies Pressure on Maduro with Fresh Sanctions on Venezuela’s Oil Sector
Washington, DC [US], January 1 (ANI): The United States has imposed a new round of sanctions targeting Venezuela’s oil sector, escalating pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government as part of President Donald Trump’s renewed campaign against what Washington describes as an “illegitimate narco-terrorist regime.”
In an official release issued on Wednesday (local time), the US Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against four companies operating in Venezuela’s oil industry and identified four oil tankers as blocked property. The sanctioned entities and vessels are accused of facilitating the transport of Venezuelan oil in violation of existing US restrictions.
“President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. He added that the Treasury Department would continue to enforce President Trump’s pressure campaign against the Maduro government.
According to the Treasury, several of the identified vessels are part of a so-called “shadow fleet” used by Venezuela to evade sanctions. These tankers allegedly generate critical financial resources that sustain Maduro’s regime and support its destabilising activities.
“Maduro’s regime increasingly depends on a shadow fleet of worldwide vessels to facilitate sanctionable activity, including sanctions evasion, and to generate revenue for its destabilising operations,” the release stated. “Today’s action further signals that those involved in the Venezuelan oil trade continue to face significant sanctions risks.”
The sanctions announcement also reiterated President Trump’s long-standing allegation that Maduro leads a “narco-terrorist” regime aimed at undermining the United States. US officials have repeatedly accused Caracas of benefiting from illicit drug trafficking and using oil revenues to prop up the current leadership.
The latest measures come amid broader military and economic pressure from Washington. Recently, President Trump suggested that it would be a “smart” decision for Maduro to relinquish power, though he stopped short of explicitly stating that forcing Maduro from office was the administration’s end goal.
When asked whether US strategy was designed to remove the Venezuelan leader, Trump said, “Well, I think it probably would. Can’t tell. That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. Again, we’re going to find out.”
Trump also accused Venezuela of causing significant harm to the United States through migration and crime. “Look, Venezuela did terrible things to the United States,” he said. “Hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people, into our open border. They sent their criminals, they sent their prisoners, they sent their drug dealers, they sent their mentally insane and incompetent people into our country, more than any other country.”
With the latest sanctions, Washington has signalled that its economic squeeze on Venezuela’s oil trade will continue, as the Trump administration seeks to further isolate Maduro’s government and curb its access to global energy markets.
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