The United States on Monday announced it was imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA.
The move, as part of an effort to transfer power away from President Nicolas Maduro comes a week after the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaido, proclaimed himself Venezuela’s interim president.
The U.S. has recognized Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader and calling on Maduro to step down.
In a statement on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the U.S. “has taken necessary actions to prevent the illegitimate former Maduro regime from further plundering Venezuela’s assets and natural resources.
“Maduro and his cronies have used state-owned PDVSA to control, manipulate, and steal from the Venezuelan people for too long, destroying it in the process.
“Today’s action will prevent Maduro and other corrupt actors from further enriching themselves at the expense of the long-suffering Venezuelan people. It will also preserve the core pillar of Venezuela’s national assets for the people and a democratically elected government.
“These new sanctions do not target the innocent people of Venezuela and will not prohibit humanitarian assistance including the provision of medicine and medical devices, which are desperately needed after years of economic destruction under Maduro’s rule. The Department of the Treasury is issuing a series of general licenses to support U.S. companies, interests, and allies.
“The United States will continue to take concrete and forceful action against those who oppose the peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela, and serve their own interests rather than those of the Venezuelan people.
“The United States stands with interim President Juan Guaido, the democratically elected National Assembly, and the people of Venezuela as they peacefully restore constitutional order to their country.”
The Trump administration also said Monday it would freeze US$7 billion worth of PDVSA’s assets in US jurisdictions.
Moreover, according to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, any purchases of Venezuelan oil by U.S. companies will be transferred into the blocked accounts.
“I expect very modest impacts on the US refineries. We’ve been working with them closely on these issues”, Mnuchin told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“We have also issued general licenses to ensure that certain European and Caribbean countries can make an orderly transition”, Mnuchin said. “We continue to call on all of our allies and partners to join the United States in recognizing interim President Guiado and blocking Maduro from being able to access PDVSA funds.”
In the press briefing, the first held in more than a month due to the partial shutdown of government, Mnuchin also said the U.S. could consider sanctions relief for PDVSA if the country’s President Nicolas Maduro agrees to transfer power to the opposition leader Juan Guaido.
“We will use all diplomatic and economic tools to support Guaido”, Mnuchin stressed.
