The US has announced new sanctions on President Nicolas Maduro’s family, as well as shipping companies and vessels alleged to have helped transport Venezuelan oil.
The move comes a day after the US seized a sanctioned tanker, which was thought to be carrying millions of dollars’ worth of oil, off Venezuela’s coast.
Three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, as well as another Maduro-affiliated businessman, were named in the sanctions list released on Thursday by the US Treasury.
Two of the nephews had previously been convicted of drug trafficking in the US before being released in a prisoner swap.
The US Treasury said the six vessels were involved in “deceptive and unsafe shipping practices” that helped fund Maduro’s government.
Four are Panama-flagged, while the others fly the flags of the Cook Islands and Hong Kong.
US Homeland Security posted footage on Thursday of the American forces seizing the oil tanker
The move escalates the Trump administration’s months-long campaign of pressure on Venezuela, which has included deploying thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, striking suspected drug-trafficking boats, and issuing repeated threats against Maduro.
On Wednesday, armed US personnel seized an oil tanker in international waters off Venezuela that had allegedly been involved in an “illicit oil shipping network” supporting countries such as Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Maduro did not directly address the oil tanker seizure, but told supporters that Venezuela is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary”.
The South American leader has also claimed that Trump’s escalating campaign against him is primarily motivated by a desire to get at Venezuelan oil.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces around one million barrels a day, but sanctions and a severe economic crisis have crippled its oil industry.
Its state-owned oil company, PDVSA, the backbone of the economy, remains Maduro’s main source of revenue, though it is reportedly supported by a network of shadowy vessels smuggling Venezuelan oil into global markets.
In November, a Delaware judge ordered the sale of Citgo, PDVSA’s Houston-based subsidiary, to repay billions in missed debts.
Venezuela condemned the “forced sale”, saying it would strip the country of crucial foreign income.
Additional seizures are possible in the coming weeks as the US applies pressure on Maduro, a senior US official previously told ITV News affiliate CNN.
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