WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, a potentially critical economic move aimed at increasing pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to cede power to the opposition.
National security adviser John Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the measures against the company.
They are also aimed at boosting Maduro’s rival, opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the administration recognized last week as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The sanctions will include a freeze on any assets the firm may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with it.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he doesn’t expect U.S. consumers to see higher prices at the gas pumps as a result of the new sanctions.
Mnuchin says there are a handful of U.S. refineries that had a dependence on Venezuelan oil, but they have reduced that dependence recently.
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