The US imposed sanctions on four oil firms in Venezuela on Wednesday as part of its crackdown on ‘drug cartels’, and designated four more oil tankers as ‘blocked property’ on allegations that they serve as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s shadow fleet.
The latest sanctions from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control target ships called Nord Star, Lunar Tide, Rosalind and Della, and their 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, adding, “The Trump Administration is committed to disrupting the network that props up Maduro and his illegitimate regime.”
The sanctions are meant to deny the firms and tankers access to any property or financial assets held in the US, and those who violate that restriction expose themselves to sanctions or enforcement actions, the US administration officials said.
Washington also announced a new set of strikes on boats allegedly ferrying drugs, taking the death toll to 110 people since the strikes began early September. The US now has two oil tankers it seized off Venezuela’s coast, and is pursuing another while it continues conducting deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Last week, US stepped-up its escalation against Venezuela with a drone attack carried out by the CIA at a docking area believed to have been used by drug cartels.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said 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 announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of the South American country. He has demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from US oil companies years ago and has said Maduro’s government is using oil profits to fund drug trafficking and other crimes.
“The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime,” Bessent said.
