US Targets 4 Venezuelan Oil Firms, Adds 4 Tankers in Maduro Action
On Wednesday, the US imposed sanctions on four firms involved in Venezuela’s oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers, which the US claims are part of a shadow fleet supporting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government, as blocked property. The action is part of the Trump administration’s prolonged pressure campaign on Maduro. US forces have seized two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, are in pursuit of another, and have carried out a series of lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
A series of strikes announced on Wednesday has raised the death toll from the attacks to a minimum of 110 individuals since early September. In a significant escalation, the CIA executed a drone strike last week at a docking area on Venezuelan soil, marking the first known direct operation in the country, which is believed to have been utilized by drug cartels. The most recent sanctions issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control focus on vessels named Nord Star, Lunar Tide, Rosalind, and Della, along with their respective registered ownership companies.
“Today’s sanctions continue President Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro and his cronies,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. The Trump Administration is dedicated to dismantling the network that supports Maduro and his illegitimate regime. Mali and Burkina Faso have enacted a retaliatory travel ban on a US national. The sanctions aim to restrict the firms and tankers from accessing any property or financial assets located in the US. Individuals, banks, and financial institutions that breach this restriction risk facing sanctions or enforcement actions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the United States “will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs.” President Donald Trump has declared a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting the South American nation. He has insisted that Venezuela restore assets it confiscated from US oil companies years ago and has stated that Maduro’s administration is utilizing oil revenues to finance drug trafficking and other criminal activities. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime,” Bessent said.
