![Countries that sanctioned Venezuela](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Countries_that_sanctioned_Venezuela.svg)
During the
crisis in Venezuela
The crisis in Venezuela is an ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened in Nicolás Maduro's presidency. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation ...
, governments of the United States, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, Canada, Mexico, Panama and Switzerland applied individual sanctions against people associated with the administration of
Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
. The sanctions were in response to repression during the
2014 Venezuelan protests and the
2017 Venezuelan protests
The 2017 Venezuelan protests were a series of protests occurring throughout Venezuela. Protests began in January 2017 after the arrest of multiple opposition leaders and the cancellation of dialogue between the opposition and Nicolás Maduro's g ...
, and activities during the
2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election and the
2018 Venezuelan presidential election. Sanctions were placed on current and former government officials, including members of the
Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) and the
2017 Constituent National Assembly (ANC), members of the military and security forces, and private individuals accused of being involved in human rights abuses, corruption, degradation in the rule of law and repression of democracy.
By March 2018, the Washington Office on Latin America said 78 Venezuelans associated with Maduro had been sanctioned by several countries.
[ Through April 2019, the U.S. sanctioned more than 150 companies, vessels and individuals, in addition to revoking visas of 718 individuals associated with Maduro.]
The sanctions included freezing of individuals' accounts and assets, prohibiting of transactions with sanctioned parties, seizing of assets, arms embargoes and travel bans. The OAS commissioner for Venezuelan migrants and refugees, David Smolansky
David Smolansky Urosa (born 27 May 1985) is a Venezuelan politician, journalist, one of the leaders of the Popular Will party and former Mayor of El Hatillo municipality in Caracas, Venezuela for the period 2014–2017. He was recognized by th ...
, has said the sanctions targeted Maduro and Chavismo
''Chavismo'' (from es, chavismo), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez th ...
"elites" while having little impact on average Venezuelans.[ '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' stated that "the deprivation long predates recently imposed US sanctions".[
Beginning in January 2019, during the ]Venezuelan presidential crisis
The Venezuelan presidential crisis is an ongoing political crisis concerning the leadership and the legitimate president of Venezuela; the office of the president has been contested since 10 January 2019, with the nation and the world divide ...
, the United States applied additional economic sanctions in the petroleum, gold, mining, food and banking industries. A report published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
stated that although the "pervasive and devastating economic and social crisis began before the imposition of the first economic sanctions", the new sanctions could worsen the situation.[ In April 2019, ]Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...
published a joint report noting that most early sanctions did not target the Venezuelan economy in any way,[ adding that sanctions imposed in 2019 could worsen the situation, but that "the crisis precedes them".][
After sanctions were issued, Venezuela has continued to ship oil and to send money to ally countries, shipping oil to Cuba and paying ]Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...
' debt with Petrocaribe in 2022.
United States
Through April 2019, the U.S. has sanctioned more than 150 companies, vessels and individuals, in addition to revoking visas of 718 individuals associated with Maduro.[
]
History and legislation
The United States has been concerned about Venezuelan narcotics trafficking since 2005 and its lack of cooperation in combatting terrorism since 2006. The U.S. has used sanctions as a policy tool for at least a decade to combat terrorism-related activity as well as narcotics and human trafficking, corruption and human rights violations, according to the Congressional Research Service's "Venezuela: Overview of U.S. sanctions". In 2008, Executive Order 13224 (EO 13224) aimed to reduce terrorist funding in Venezuela via sanctions, and the United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
has used the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark federal legislation in the United States intended to address international narcotics trafficking by imposing United States sanctions on foreign persons ...
(Kingpin Act) to sanction at least 22 Venezuelans, including several current and former government officials.[
Prior to the ]crisis in Venezuela
The crisis in Venezuela is an ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened in Nicolás Maduro's presidency. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation ...
, in 2010 the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three current or former Venezuelan government officials, saying there was evidence they had materially helped the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...
(FARC) in the illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...
. The order "freezes any assets the designated entities and individuals may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions involving those assets".[ ]Hugo Carvajal
Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, nicknamed ''El Pollo'' ("The Chicken") (born 1960), is a Venezuelan diplomat and retired general. He was the head of the military intelligence in Venezuela during Hugo Chávez's government, from July 2004 to Dec ...
, former director of Venezuela's military intelligence (DGIM); Henry Rangel Silva
Henry de Jesús Rangel Silva (born 1961) is the current governor of Trujillo, Venezuela. A military general and former Minister of Defense, noticias24.com, 17 January 2012Perfil: Henry Rangel Silva, el nuevo ministro de la Defensa Rangel Silva wa ...
, director National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services
DISIP (General Sectoral Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services) was an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency inside and outside of Venezuela between 1969 and 2009 when SEBIN was created by former President Hugo Chavez. DISIP was ...
(DISIP); and Ramón Rodríguez Chacín
Ramón Rodríguez Chacín (born November 9, 1951) is a Venezuelan politician. A retired naval officer, he was Minister of the Interior and Justice in 2002, and again in 2008. He took part in the November 1992 coup attempt.
Early years
Rodríguez ...
, former Minister of the Interior, were sanctioned.[ Carvajal was arrested in Spain on 12 April 2019 based on arrest warrant from the United States for the 2011 charges; the U.S. asked Spain to extradite Carvajal.][Castellanos, Silvio and Miguel Gutierrez, Andy Sullivan (12 April 2019)]
"Ex-Venezuelan intelligence chief arrested on U.S. drug trafficking warrant"
Reuters. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
In 2011, four allies of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
, including a general, two politicians, and an intelligence official, were sanctioned for allegedly helping FARC
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflic ...
obtain weapons and smuggle drugs. Then-Foreign Minister Maduro said the accusations were "abusive". Freddy Bernal
Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales is the ex-mayor of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas, Venezuela and a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Law enforcement
Prior to becoming a politician, the BBC says he "commanded a notor ...
, one of the sanctioned, dismissed the charges as "an aggression", saying he would not be frightened by the sanctions.
President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014, a U.S. Act imposing sanctions on Venezuelan individuals held responsible by the United States for human rights violations
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...
during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, in December of that year. It "requires the President to impose sanctions" on those "responsible for significant acts of violence or serious human rights abuses associated with February 2014 protests or, more broadly, against anyone who has directed or ordered the arrest or prosecution of a person primarily because of the person's legitimate exercise of freedom of expression or assembly". The Act was extended in 2016 to expire on 31 December 2019.
On 2 February 2015, the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
imposed visa restrictions on current and former Venezuelan officials that were allegedly linked to presumed human rights abuses
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...
and political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...
. The visa restrictions also included family members, with the Department of State saying, "We are sending a clear message that human rights abusers, those who profit from public corruption, and their families are not welcome in the United States".[
Obama issued Executive Order 13692 in March 2015, which blocks assets or imposes travel bans on those "involved in or responsible for the erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, use of violence and human rights violations and abuses in response to antigovernment protests, and ]arbitrary arrest and detention
Arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention are the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law ...
of antigovernment protestors, as well as significant public corruption by senior government officials in the country."
United States National Security Advisor
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA),The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1. is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at t ...
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...
outlined the policies of the administration of United States President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
towards Venezuela in a November 2018 speech, describing Venezuela as part of a troika of tyranny
Troika of tyranny ( es, troika de la tiranía) is a description of the nations of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela used by United States National Security Advisor John R. Bolton in outlining United States foreign policy towards those nations. Bolton ...
, along with Cuba and Nicaragua. Bolton has alternately described the three countries as the "triangle of terror" and the "three stooges of socialism", stating that the three are "the cause of immense human suffering, the impetus of enormous regional instability, and the genesis of a sordid cradle of communism in the western hemisphere".[ The United States has condemned actions of the governments of the three Latin American nations and has maintained both broad and targeted sanctions against their leadership.][
Into 2020, President ]Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
expressed that he believed that the removal of Maduro from office was occurring too slowly and that incremental processes, such as sanctions, did not provide results. Because such processes to remove Maduro were unsuccessful, President Trump began to consider military options, including a naval blockade
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
against Venezuela.
Under EO 13692, the Obama administration sanctioned seven individuals, and the Trump administration has sanctioned 73 as of 8 March 2019.[
]
On individuals
2015
U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
issued a presidential order on 9 March 2015 declaring Venezuela a "threat to its national security" and ordered the United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
to freeze property and assets of seven Venezuelan officials. The U.S. held the seven individuals sanctioned responsible for "excesses committed in the repression of the demonstrations of February 2014 that left at least 43 dead" including "erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents, restrictions on press freedom, violence and human rights abuses in response to anti-government protests, arbitrary arrests and arrests of anti-government protesters, and significant public corruption". Among those sanctioned were Antonio Benavides Torres, commander in the Venezuelan armed forces
The National Bolivarian Armed Forces ( es, Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana - FANB) of Venezuela are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the army, navy, and air force there ...
and former leader of the Venezuelan National Guard
The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela ( es, Guardia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela - GNB), is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or ...
, and SEBIN
The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
directors Manuel Bernal Martínez and Gustavo González López.
2017
Tareck El Aissami
Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...
, Vice President of Economy and Minister for National Industry and Production, and his frontman Samark Lopez Bello were named in February under the Kingpin Act as significant international narcotics traffickers. Five U.S. companies in Florida and an airplane registered in the U.S. were also blocked.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Maikel Moreno
Maikel José Moreno Pérez (born 12 December 1965) is a lawyer, doctor of Venezuelan constitutional law, and judge who currently serves as president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela.
Moreno is currently a fugitive as part of an in ...
and seven members of the Venezuelan Supreme Justice Tribunal (TSJ) in May for usurping the functions of the Venezuelan National Assembly
The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vo ...
and permitting Maduro to govern by decree. The U.S. assets of the eight individuals were frozen, and U.S. persons prohibited from doing business with them.
In July, thirteen senior officials of the Venezuelan government associated with the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly elections were sanctioned for their role in undermining democracy and human rights. Those sanctioned included Elías Jaua
Elías José Jaua Milano (born 16 December 1969) is a Venezuelan politician and former university professor who serves as the Minister of Education of Venezuela. He served as the vice president of Venezuela from January 2010 to October 2012 and ha ...
, Presidential Commission for the ANC and Minister of Education; Tibisay Lucena
Tibisay Lucena was the president of the National Electoral Council or CNE until 2020, one of the five branches of government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. She was first elected to this post in 2006, and was reelected in 2009 for the 2 ...
, President of the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE); Néstor Reverol
Néstor Luis Reverol Torres (born 28 October 1964) holds the position of Minister of the People's Power for Interior Relations and Justice of Venezuela and is currently Commander General of the National Guard of Venezuela. On 3 August 2016, he w ...
, Minister of Interior and former Commander General of Venezuelan National Guard
The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela ( es, Guardia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela - GNB), is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or ...
(GNB), indicted in 2016 by U.S. for drug conspiracy; Tarek William Saab
Tarek William Saab Halabi (, ar, طارق وليام صعب حلبي; born 10 September 1962) is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer and poet. He is a leader of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) party founded by Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, ...
, Ombudsman and President of Moral Council; and Iris Varela ANC member and Prisons Minister.
The United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
condemned the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election and refused to recognize the ANC, stating "We will continue to take strong and swift actions against the architects of authoritarianism in Venezuela, including those who participate in the National Constituent Assembly". The day after the election, the US sanctioned Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
, freezing his assets, banning United States citizens from dealing with Maduro and barring him from entering the United States, stating "These sanctions come a day after the Maduro government held elections for a National Constituent Assembly that aspires illegitimately to usurp the constitutional role of the democratically elected National Assembly, rewrite the constitution, and impose an authoritarian regime on the people of Venezuela". Maduro became the fourth head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
to be sanctioned by the United States government after Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
of Syria, Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
of North Korea and Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
of Zimbabwe. Maduro fired back at the sanctions during his victory speech saying "I don't obey imperial orders. I'm against the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
that governs the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, and I'm proud to feel that way."
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned eight officials associated with the 2017 Constituent National Assembly (ANC) in August, for participating in "anti-democratic actions pursuant to Executive Order 13692" by facilitating the "illegitimate Constituent Assembly to further entrench aduro'sdictatorship". The individuals sanctioned included Francisco Ameliach
Francisco José Ameliach Orta (born 14 June 1963) is a Venezuelan retired military officer and politician who is vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Political career
Born in Valencia, Ameliach was part of the 1992 ...
and Adán Chávez
Adán Chávez Frías (born April 11, 1953) is a Venezuelan politician who was Governor of Barinas state from 2008 to 2017. Previously he was Ambassador to Cuba and then Minister of Education from 2007 to 2008. He is the elder brother of Hugo Ch ...
, the brother of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
.[
In November, ten more government officials were added to OFAC's list of Venezuelans sanctioned after the regional elections;] the U.S. Treasury Department described the individuals as being "associated with undermining electoral processes, media censorship, or corruption in government-administered food programs in Venezuela". Among those sanctioned was Minister Freddy Bernal
Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales is the ex-mayor of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas, Venezuela and a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Law enforcement
Prior to becoming a politician, the BBC says he "commanded a notor ...
, who heads the Local Committees for Supply and Production
The Local Committees for Supply and Production (Spanish: ''Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción'', CLAP) are food distribution committees promoted by the Venezuelan government in which the communities themselves supply and distribute th ...
(CLAP) program, and was previously named in 2011 as a drug trafficker under the Kingpin Act for aiding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...
(FARC).[
]
2018
The U.S. Treasury Department said on 5 January that corruption and repression continued in Venezuela and four senior military officers were sanctioned. Reuters reported that "Maduro regularly laughs off Washington's disapproval and blames the U.S. 'empire' for Venezuela's economic woes."[ Four more current or former officials were added to the sanctioned list in March 2018.]
Just before the May 2018 Venezuelan presidential election, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned four Venezuelans and three companies it said were involved in corruption and money laundering. Individuals sanctioned included Diosdado Cabello
Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela
, atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
, Chavismo
''Chavismo'' (from es, chavismo), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez th ...
's number two person and President of the ANC,[ his wife, Marleny Contreras Hernández de Cabello, who is also the Tourism Minister, and his brother José David Cabello Rondón, the president of Venezuela's tax authority, ]SENIAT SENIAT (''Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria''–- National Integrated Service for the Administration of Customs Duties and Taxes) is Venezuela's revenue service
A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation ...
.[ The three Florida companies, owned or controlled by sanctioned front man Rafael Sarria in Florida were: SAI Advisors Inc., Noor Plantation Investments LLC, and 11420 Corp. Fourteen other properties owned or controlled by Sarria in Florida and New York were also sanctioned.] The U.S. Treasury Department said that, "Beyond extorting profits from Venezuela’s Customs and Tax Administration, in September 2017, the Cabello brothers, acting in their capacity as high-level Venezuelan government officials, approved a money laundering scheme based on illicit financial activities targeting the Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)."[
The U.S. Treasury Department seized a private jet and imposed sanctions on Maduro's inner circle in September. Maduro's wife, ]Cilia Flores
Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro (born 15 October 1956) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. She is married to the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, making her the First Lady. Since 2015, she has also been a deputy in the National Assembly of ...
, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López
Vladímir Padrino López (born 30 May 1963) is a Venezuelan four-star general serving as the current Minister of Defense for the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela since 24 October 2014.
Military career
On 5 July 19 ...
, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez
Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan politician serving as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. She was also Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014, Mini ...
, and her brother Jorge Rodríguez, Venezuela's Minister of Communications, were sanctioned.[ Agencia Vehiculos Especiales Rurales y Urbanos, C.A. (AVERUCA, C.A.), Quiana Trading Limited (Quiana Trading), and Panazeate SL were also sanctioned, as companies owned or controlled in the U.S., British Virgin Islands, and Spain by sanctioned parties.] Maduro responded to his wife's sanctions, saying "You don’t mess with Cilia. You don’t mess with family. Don’t be cowards! Her only crime sbeing my wife."
2019
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned seven individuals on 8 January 2019, who they said were benefitting from a corrupt currency exchange scheme. Alejandro Jose Andrade Cedeño, a former national Treasurer, "was sentenced by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on November 27, 2018, to 10 years in prison for accepting over $1 billion in bribes for his role" in the scheme. OFAC also sanctioned five other individuals and 23 companies,[ including Venezuelan private TV network ]Globovisión
Globovisión is a 24-hour television news network. It broadcasts over-the-air in Caracas, Aragua (state), Aragua, Carabobo and Zulia on Ultra high frequency, UHF channel 33. Globovisión is seen in the rest of Venezuela on cable or satellite ( ...
and other companies owned or controlled by Raúl Gorrín and Gustavo Perdomo.[
On 15 February 2019, officials of Maduro's security and intelligence were sanctioned for helping suppress democracy; the head of state-run ]PDVSA
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, ) (English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and production ...
was also sanctioned. The U.S. Treasury Department says the security officials are responsible for torture, human rights abuses, and extrajudicial killings.
left, upright=0.9, , Attorney General, sanctioned by Canada, the European Union, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland, U.S., and banned from entering Colombia">Tarek Saab, Attorney General, sanctioned by Canada, the European Union, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland, U.S., and banned from entering Colombia
During the February 2019 shipping of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, U.S. Vice-president Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
announced new US sanctions against four Venezuelan state governors, who the US says had furthered the humanitarian crisis by participating in the blocking of aid; the governors of the United Socialist Party representing Zulia
Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...
, Apure
Apure State ( es, Estado Apure, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations pronounced by the colonial author ...
, Vargas and Carabobo
, anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo''
, image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location within Venezuela
, pushpin_map =
, pushpin_map_ ...
states were blacklisted. On 1 March, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned six more military and security forces individuals, including members of FAES, ''Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales'', a special police force. The U.S. said these individuals helped obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid to Venezuela on the Colombian and Brazilian borders.
On 11 March 2019, the US sanctioned a Russian bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank, which is jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies. The U.S. Treasury Department accused the Moscow-based bank of being an economic lifeline for the "illegitimate Maduro regime."
The US sanctioned Minerven, Venezuela's state-run mining company, and its president, Adrian Antonio Perdomo in March 2019. The sanctions prohibit business with Minerven and Perdomo, and freeze their assets in the US. The U.S. Treasury department said that the Venezuelan military grants access to criminal organizations in exchange for money.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned two companies on 5 April 2019 that had shipped Venezuelan oil to Cuba; the US says Cuban personnel and advisors help the Maduro government maintain power. U.S. citizens and businesses are prohibited from engaging in business with the companies, identified as Liberia-based Ballito Bay Shipping Inc., the owner of the ''Despina Andrianna'', and the Greek company ProPer Management Inc., the operator of the vessel that was used for an oil shipment to Cuba. Another 34 ships that are owned by PDVSA were also added to the sanction list. The U.S. sanctioned nine ships and four more shipping companies on 12 April 2019: Liberian companies Jennifer Navigation Ltd., Large Range Ltd. and Lima Shipping Corp.; and Italian PB Tankers. An unnamed U.S. senior official told Bloomberg that these companies and vessels account for as much as half of the 50,000 barrels daily of oil that "Venezuela sends to Cuba in exchange for the social, intelligence and strategic support Havana provides Maduro". Cuba denies any influence on Venezuela's military and—along with Russia, China, Turkey and Iran—is determined to defend Maduro according to Bloomberg.[
On 17 April 2019, the U.S. Treasury added sanctions to the ]Central Bank of Venezuela
The Central Bank of Venezuela ( es, Banco Central de Venezuela, BCV) is the central bank of Venezuela. It maintains a fixed exchange rate for the Venezuelan bolívar and since 1996 is the governing agent of the Venezuelan Clearing House System ...
and one of its directors, Iliana Ruzza. Directors Simon Alejandro Zerpa Delgado and William Antonio Contreras were already sanctioned. In a speech on 17 April 2019 in Miami which marked the anniversary of the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fina ...
, Bolton announced new restrictions on U.S. dealings with the three countries he called the "troika of tyranny" — Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela — as "part of a broader set of policies" aimed at "reversing the Obama administration's embrace" of Cuba. Bolton said the sanction was "aimed at restricting U.S. transactions with the bank and cutting off the bank's access to U.S. currency", and "meant to be a warning to others, including Russia, against deploying military assets to Venezuela." United States Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Steven Mnuchin
Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
stated that the sanction was to prevent the Central Bank "from being used as a tool of the illegitimate Maduro regime, which continues to plunder Venezuelan assets and exploit government institutions to enrich corrupt insiders."[ Maduro responded in a television broadcast, saying: "Let me tell you, imperialist Mr. John Bolton—advisor to Donald Trump—that your sanctions give us more strength." Maduro said the sanctions were "totally illegal" and that "Central banks around the world are sacred, all countries respect them. ... To me the empire looks crazy, desperate."]
On 26 April 2019, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Maduro's foreign minister Jorge Arreaza
Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August ...
and Judge Carol Padilla
Carol Bealexis Padilla Reyes de Arretureta (born 19 February 1972) is a Venezuelan judge currently serving at the First Special Court of First Instance in Control Functions and a substitute judge of the Court of Appeals of the criminal judicial c ...
, which it accused of exploiting the U.S. financial system to support the "illegitimate" government of Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
. The U.S. Department of State issued a statement describing Arreaza as being "at the forefront" of the Maduro administration attempts "to thwart the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people", and Padilla as the judge involved in the detention of Roberto Marrero
Roberto Eugenio Marrero Borjas is a Venezuelan attorney, politician, and chief of staff to Juan Guaidó; he was arrested by Bolivarian Intelligence Service, SEBIN during a raid on his home in the early morning hours of 21 March 2019, and detaine ...
, Guaidó's top aide.
Following the Venezuelan uprising on 30 April 2019, the U.S. removed sanctions against former SEBIN chief Manuel Cristopher Figuera
Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera is the former director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and former major general of the Venezuelan army. He is known for being a main conspirator during the failed 2019 Venezuelan uprisi ...
, who broke ranks with Maduro. The U.S. Treasury Department press release said the action demonstrated that "removal of sanctions may be available for designated persons who take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order, refuse to take part in human rights abuses, speak out against abuses committed by the illegitimate Maduro regime, or combat corruption in Venezuela". In response to the arrest of National Assembly members, the US Treasury sanctioned on 10 May two shipping companies, and two ships, that transported oil from Venezuela to Cuba between late 2018 and March 2019. Both ships sanctioned have Panama flags: the tanker ''Ocean Elegance'' is owned by Monsoon Navigation Corporation, and ''Leon Dias'' by Serenity Martitime Limited. Mnuchin stated: "The U.S. will take further action if Cuba continues to receive Venezuelan oil in exchange for military support."[ The sanctions were a "direct response to SEBIN’s illegal arrest of National Assembly members".][
On 27 June 2019, the ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
sanctioned two former Venezuelan government officials Luis Alfredo Motta Domínguez and Eustiquio Jose Lugo Gomez, who, it claimed, were engaging in significant corruption and fraud to the detriment of the people of Venezuela. The Miami US attorney's office said during a news release that the Motta is indicted on seven counts of money laundering and one count of money laundering conspiracy, after awarding US$60 million in contracts to three Florida-based companies in return for bribes. In April, President Maduro dismissed Motta as Electricity Minister after a series of blackouts occurred in March.
On 28 June 2019, the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
placed sanctions on President Maduro's son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra for being a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela, as well as being a member of Venezuela's Constituent Assembly. The U.S. Treasury Department accuses Maduro Guerra of maintaining a stranglehold on the economy and suppressing the people of Venezuela.
Following the death of Venezuelan navy captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo on 29 June, the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
sanctioned Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar
The General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence ( es, Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar, DGCIM) is the military counterintelligence agency of Venezuela, whose function is to prevent intelligence or espionage internally and ...
on 11 July 2019, accusing the defense agency of being responsible for his death.
On 19 July 2019, US Vice President Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
announced new sanctions on DGCIM officials who, he said, were responsible for repressing and torturing Venezuelans. Pence said the UN had reported that there were nearly 7000 "killings by heMaduro regime in the last 18 months".
On 25 July 2019, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer, who has served in foreign policy positions for presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. Abrams is considered to be a neoconservative. He is currently ...
announced that the government was considering imposing new sanctions on Russia over its support for President Maduro. Abrams said "On Russia, we are still thinking about what sanctions to apply, individual or sectorial. They are not giving any more money to Venezuela. They are taking their money out."
On 7 October 2019, Adobe Inc. announced that it decided to stop providing cloud services in Venezuela to comply with the executive orders. All last versions of Adobe products use cloud. It gave users time until 28 October to download their files from clouds. However, on 28 October Adobe announced that it would continue providing cloud services.
2020
The United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
sanctioned seven individuals, for their involvement in the disputed internal parliamentary elections of the National Assembly in January 2020. The election was disrupted and resulted in two competing claims for the Presidency of the National Assembly: one by legislator Luis Parra
Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero (born 7 July 1978) is a Venezuelan politician who was in a dispute with Juan Guaidó for a year over who was the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela based on a vote on 5 January 2020.
The investigative jou ...
, later supported by Nicolás Maduro, and one by the incumbent Juan Guaidó
Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the Social democracy, social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly (Venezuela), National Assembly representing ...
. According to US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin
Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
on 13 January 2020, the US blacklisted the Venezuelan lawmakers "who, at the bidding of Maduro, attempted to block the democratic process in Venezuela." The sanctioned had their assets in the US frozen and are not allowed to do business with US financial markets nor with US citizens. The list includes the members of Luis Parra
Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero (born 7 July 1978) is a Venezuelan politician who was in a dispute with Juan Guaidó for a year over who was the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela based on a vote on 5 January 2020.
The investigative jou ...
's appointed board of directors and his supporters: Franklyn Duarte, José Goyo Noriega, , José Brito
José Brito (born 19 March 1944) is a Cape Verdean politician.
Biography
Brito was born in Dakar, Senegal (then a French colony) to Cape Verdean parents. Later in his years, he moved to Cape Verde.
Brito holds a bachelor of science in mathemat ...
, , Adolfo Superlano and Parra himself.
On 7 February 2020, OFAC added state airline Conviasa
Línea Aérea Conviasa (legally ''Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos'') is a Venezuelan airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela, near Carac ...
and its fleet of 40 aircraft (including presidential aircraft) to the Specially Designated Nationals ("SDN") list. In practice, this makes it extremely unlikely that Conviasa will be able to source replacement parts for its fleet of airworthy and grounded Boeing B737 aircraft. Additionally, US citizens and companies are prohibited from flying on Conviasa's domestic and international flights. Finally, to the extent that other countries abide by OFAC policy, those countries (Brazil, France and the United Kingdom) will refuse to sell Conviasa replacement parts for Embraer
Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...
and Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
aircraft, prohibit its nationals from flying Conviasa, and will cancel Conviasa-serviced routes to their respective countries (Panama, Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador).
On 18 February 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") sanctioned Rosneft
PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...
, its Swiss-incorporated company (Rosneft Trading S.A.) and its president and chairman of board of directors Didier Casimiro
Didier Casimiro (born 1966) is a Russian government official, considered a political groups during Vladimir Putin's presidency, close ally and "de facto deputy" of Igor Sechin. He is the chief executive officer, First Vice President of Rosneft, th ...
on 18 February 2020 for supporting Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
government by operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy. The company was previously sanctioned by the Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
on 16 July 2014 in retaliation for the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
, and the Russian interference in Ukraine.
Into 2020, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
expressed that he believed that the removal of Maduro from office was occurring too slowly and that incremental processes such as sanctions did not provide results. Because such processes to remove Maduro were unsuccessful, President Trump began to consider military options, including a naval blockade
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
against Venezuela.
On 26 March 2020, the U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
offered $15 million on Nicolás Maduro, and $10 million each on Diosdado Cabello
Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela
, atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
, Hugo Carvajal
Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, nicknamed ''El Pollo'' ("The Chicken") (born 1960), is a Venezuelan diplomat and retired general. He was the head of the military intelligence in Venezuela during Hugo Chávez's government, from July 2004 to Dec ...
, Clíver Alcalá Cordones
Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones (born 21 November 1961), is a retired Venezuelan major general and a member of the Bolivarian Army. Clíver Alcalá was one of the soldiers who participated in the attempted coup d'état against President Carlos A ...
and Tareck El Aissami
Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...
, for information to bring those individuals to justice in relation to drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
and narco-terrorism
Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by t ...
.
Embargo
In August 2019, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
imposed additional sanctions on Venezuela, ordering a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and barred transactions with US citizens and companies. The United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
raised concern about these US sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
. The UN rights chief condemned the measures as "extremely broad" that are capable of exacerbating the suffering of the Venezuelan people. Following the decision, National Security Advisor John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...
said that his government was ready to impose sanctions on any international company doing business with Nicolás Maduro, an act that could ensnare its dealings with its allies such as Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
as well as Western companies.
On industries
Trump issued EO 13850 on 1 November 2018 to block the assets of anyone involved in corruption in the gold sector, or "any other sector of the economy as determined in the future by the Secretary of the Treasury".[ U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin determined on 28 January 2019 that EO 13850 applied to the petroleum sector.][
Three additional Executive Orders have been applied in the areas of Venezuelan sanctions. EO 13808, issued on 27 July 2017, prohibits the Venezuelan government from accessing U.S. financial markets, allowing for "exceptions to minimize the impact on the Venezuelan people and U.S. economic interests. The sanctions restrict the Venezuelan government's access to U.S. debt and equity markets." This includes the state-run oil company, ]PDVSA
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, ) (English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and production ...
.[ Issued in 2018, EO 13827 prohibits the use of Venezuelan digital currency, and EO 13835 prohibits the purchase of Venezuelan debt.][
The ]Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
(OAS) commissioner for Venezuelan migrants and refugees, David Smolansky
David Smolansky Urosa (born 27 May 1985) is a Venezuelan politician, journalist, one of the leaders of the Popular Will party and former Mayor of El Hatillo municipality in Caracas, Venezuela for the period 2014–2017. He was recognized by th ...
in Public Radio International
Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States.
PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...
said that US sanctions "target President Nicolás Maduro and his circle of elite government officials in an attempt to control their access to financial assistance from US citizens and companies". The authors add that while "Chavismo
''Chavismo'' (from es, chavismo), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez th ...
elites were hit with a variety of sanctions over the last three years, they've done little to make an impact on ordinary Venezuelans, whose lives have spiraled into a humanitarian crisis as hyperinflation has driven nearly 3 million to flee." As the humanitarian crisis deepened and expanded, the Trump administration levied more serious economic sanctions against Venezuela on 28 January, and "Maduro accused the US of plunging Venezuelan citizens further into economic crisis." Rafael Uzcátegui, director of PROVEA
The ''Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights'' or PROVEA ( es, Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos) is one of the most prominent Venezuelan human rights organizations. According to the United Nations Human R ...
, added that "sanctions against PDVSA are likely to yield stronger and more direct economic consequences, and that " should remember that 70 to 80 percent of Venezuela's food is imported, and there's barely any medicine production in the country."[
]
Petroleum
In August 2017, Trump imposed economic sanctions that moderately affected Venezuela's petroleum industry, according to the ''New York Times'', by prohibiting the trading of Venezuelan bonds in U.S. markets. The ''New York Times'' said there were "broad loopholes, allowing for the financing of most commercial trade, including the export of American light crude oil to Venezuela for mixing with its heavy crude, and financing for humanitarian services to the Venezuelan people", and quoted analysts who said the sanctions would not be a "lethal blow", rather would "send a message". The White House saw the limited measures as a way to "protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela's corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance".[ According to the U.S. State Department, this "closes another avenue for corruption by denying the Venezuelan regime the ability to earn money by selling off public assets at 'fire sale' prices at the expense of the Venezuelan people".][
On 28 January, the United States imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company ]PDVSA
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, ) (English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and production ...
to pressure Maduro to resign during the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis. The sanctions prevent PDVSA from being paid for petroleum exports to the US, freeze $7 billion of PDVSA's US assets and prevent US firms from exporting naphtha
Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ''n ...
to Venezuela. Bolton estimated the expected loss to the Venezuelan economy at more than $11 billion in 2019. ''Reuters'' said the sanctions are expected to reduce Venezuela's ability to purchase food and other imports which could result in further shortages and worsen its economic position.
In February, Maduro ordered PDVSA to move its European office to Moscow to protect PDVSA's overseas assets from US sanctions. The Russian state-run oil company Rosneft
PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...
has supplied naphtha to Venezuela and continues to purchase Venezuelan petroleum which it says is through contracts that were in place prior to the US sanctions. Exports of Venezuela's heavy crude oil depend on diluents that were imported from the US before sanctions; Rosneft chartered a ship to load thinners from Malta and deliver them to Venezuela on 22 March, and it has arranged for shipping of Venezuelan crude oil to be processed in India. Other companies including India's Reliance Industries Limited
Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, headquartered in Mumbai. It has diverse businesses including energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. Reliance is o ...
, Spain's Repsol
Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31[Originally an init ...]
, and commodity trading companies Trafigura
Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. is a Singaporean-based Swiss multinational commodity trading company founded in 1993 that trades in base metals and energy. It is the world's largest private metals trader and second-largest oil trader having built or p ...
and Vitol
Vitol is a Swiss-based multinational energy and commodity trading company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Viëtor and Jacques Detiger. Though trading, logistics and distribution are at the core of its business, these are complemente ...
continued to supply Venezuela's oil industry as of 11 April 2019. On 17 April, Reuters reported that Repsol was in discussion with the Trump administration and had suspended its swaps with PDVSA.
The Venezuelan National Assembly has been looking at ways to access Venezuela's overseas cash and facilities. PDVSA's US subsidiary Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...
announced in February that it would formally cut ties with PDVSA to comply with US sanctions on Venezuela, and halted payments to PDVSA. Juan Guaidó
Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the Social democracy, social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly (Venezuela), National Assembly representing ...
and the National Assembly appointed a new Citgo board of directors under Chairperson Luisa Palacios. The National Assembly authorized Guaidó's appointment of a new ''ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
'' board of PDVSA, Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...
, Pdvsa Holding Inc, Citgo Holding Inc. and Citgo Petroleum Corporation. Even though control of PDVSA assets in Venezuela remained with Maduro, Guaidó also named a new board for PDVSA.[Scigliuzzo, Davide, and David Wethe, Ben Bartenstein (9 March 2019)]
"Citgo eyes $1.2 billion term loan amid fight for refiner"
Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 March 2019. With Citgo under the control of Guaidó's administration, the US Department of Treasury extended its license to operate in spite of US sanctions.
Stating it was a "sign of the growing dependence of Venezuela’s cash-strapped government on Russia", Reuters reported on 18 April 2019 that the Maduro administration was bypassing the sanctions by funneling cash from petroleum sales through Russia's Rosneft. Reliance denied reports that it was in violation of U.S. sanctions and stated that its purchases of Venezuelan oil through Rosneft had the approval of the U.S. State Department.
April oil exports were steady at a million barrels daily, "partially due to inventory drains", with most shipments to buyers from India and China. Production in April was eight percent higher than it was in March, during the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts
Nationwide recurring electrical blackouts in Venezuela began in March 2019. Experts and state-run Corpoelec (Corporación Eléctrica Nacional) sources attribute the electricity shortages to lack of maintenance and to a lack of technical experti ...
.[ Even with sanctions, shipments to Cuba were unchanged.][
]
= Petrocaribe
=
Through Petrocaribe, Caribbean countries including Haiti and Jamaica had been able to finance 40% of their Venezuelan crude oil purchases over 25 years at 1% interest; Cuba received free oil in exchange for medical services. ''Reuters'' said, "The Caribbean region has long relied on oil and gas from Venezuela, which offered cheap financing through a program called Petrocaribe, though shipments have declined in recent years because of production problems at Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA."[ Research by the journalism group ''Connectas'' said that Venezuela had spent $28 billion worth of oil to buy support from 14 Caribbean countries; according to the ''Connectas'' study the social benefits that were intended for the countries of Petrocaribe were not realized, which they say was ignored by the Venezuelan government because Petrocaribe countries were intended to protect Venezuela's sovereignty in international organizations like the UN and OAS.
Several leaders of Caribbean countries supporting Maduro criticized the US sanctions, saying their support for Maduro was based on principles, not oil, and that sanctions were affecting their countries' supply, debt payments, and the region's stability.][ The director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy Program at the University of Texas at Austin, Jorge Piñón, said the supply cuts to these Caribbean countries were not due to the sanctions, but the mismanagement of PDVSA.][ When Chávez was elected, Venezuela was producing 3.5 million barrels per day of crude oil; as of March 2019, production is about 1 million barrels per day, and Piñón says these countries should have seen the problems coming.][ ]Gaston Browne
Gaston Alfonso Browne (born 9 February 1967) is the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He has been its leader since 2014. Before entering politics, he was a banker and businessman.
Early life
Browne was born on 9 February 1967, days before ...
, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of government of the country.
The current prime minister is Gaston Browne, since 13 June 2014.Jacqueline Charles"Browne becomes new prime minister of Antigua, youngest ever" ''The Miami He ...
, and others criticized the US intent in the region, saying that "Washington should provide more aid to these nations and not spend billions on useless wars".[ With the Venezuelan crisis dividing Caribbean countries, those countries that did not recognize Maduro were invited to meet with Trump in March 2019.] Following the meeting, Trump promised more investment to the countries supporting Guaidó (Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Saint Lucia), although "the White House did not specifically tie the carrot of investment to that support".
Gold mining
Venezuela's third-largest export (after crude oil and refined petroleum products) is gold. The country's gold production is controlled by the military and is mined under dangerous conditions.[ The World Gold Council reported in January 2019 that Venezuela's foreign-held gold reserves had fallen by 69% to US$8.4 billion during Maduro's presidency, but that it was hard to track where the gold was going. Central Bank gold holdings decreased in November 2018 from US$6.1 billion to US$5.5 billion; the last independent observer to access the vault where gold is stored was Francisco Rodríguez, who saw an estimated US$15 billion in 2014.][ Reuters reported that 20 tons were removed from the vaults in 2018, and 23 tons of mined gold were taken to Istanbul, Turkey.][ In the first nine months of 2018, Venezuela's gold exports to Turkey rose from zero in the previous year to US$900 million.][
On 1 November 2018 Trump signed an executive order to "ban U.S. persons from dealing with entities and individuals involved with 'corrupt or deceptive' gold sales from Venezuela".]
In mid-February 2019, a National Assembly legislator Angel Alvarado said that about eight tons of gold had been taken from the vault while the head of the Central Bank was abroad. In March, Ugandan investigators were looking into recent gold imports, and reported that 7.4 tonnes of gold worth over US$300 million could have been smuggled into that country.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Minerven, Venezuela's state-run mining company, and its president, Adrian Antonio Perdomo in March 2019. The sanctions prohibit business with Minerven and Perdomo, and freeze their assets in the US. The Treasury department said that the Venezuelan military grants access to criminal organizations in exchange for money.[
Government sources said another eight tonnes of gold was taken out of the Central Bank in the first week of April 2019; the government source said that there were 100 tonnes left. The gold was removed while the bank was not fully operational because of the ongoing, widespread power outages and minimal staff was present; the destination of the gold was not known.
According to Bloomberg, the Central Bank sold 9.5 tonnes of gold on 10 May and three more tonnes some days later.
In an exclusive report in March 2020, ]Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
estimated that there were about 90 tonnes of gold left in the country, compared to 129 tonnes at the start of 2019.
Banking and finance
On 19 March 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
signed an order that prohibits people in the U.S. from making any type of transaction with digital currency emitted by or in the name of the government of Venezuela as of 9 January 2018. The executive order referenced " Petro", a crypto-currency also known as ''petromoneda''. He said the crypto-currency had been designed in February 2018 to "circumvent US sanctions" and access international financing.
After the detention of Guaidó's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero
Roberto Eugenio Marrero Borjas is a Venezuelan attorney, politician, and chief of staff to Juan Guaidó; he was arrested by Bolivarian Intelligence Service, SEBIN during a raid on his home in the early morning hours of 21 March 2019, and detaine ...
, in March 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department responded by placing sanctions on the Venezuelan bank BANDES Bandes may refer to:
* BANDES, The Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank
* Susan Bandes, American lawyer
* Efim Samuilovich Bandes (1866–1927), Russian-Jewish political activist, known in the United States as Louis Miller
{{dis ...
and its subsidiaries. ''Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
'' said this action "put 'the entire banking sector' on notice" that "persons operating in Venezuela's financial sector may be subject to sanctions." China Development Bank
The China Development Bank (CDB) () is a development bank in the People's Republic of China (PRC), led by a cabinet minister at the Governor level, under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council. As one of three policy banks in China, it ...
has paid billions of dollars through BANDES to the Venezuelan government in exchange for crude oil; the sanctions will make it difficult for Venezuela to restructure its US$20 billion debt with China.[
The Maduro administration issued a statement saying that it "energetically rejects the unilateral, coercive, arbitrary and illegal measures" that would affect banking for millions of people.]
US National Security Advisor Bolton said that "Our aim is to bring this crisis to a conclusion quickly for the benefit of the Venezuelan people to get the Maduro regime to peacefully transition to the Guaido regime so that we can have free and fair elections."[ Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said, "The willingness of Maduro's inner-circle to exploit Venezuela’s institutions knows no bounds. Regime insiders have transformed BANDES and its subsidiaries into vehicles to move funds abroad in an attempt to prop up Maduro. Maduro and his enablers have distorted the original purpose of the bank, which was founded to help the economic and social well-being of the Venezuelan people, as part of a desperate attempt to hold onto power."]
The U.S. Treasury added sanctions to the Central Bank of Venezuela
The Central Bank of Venezuela ( es, Banco Central de Venezuela, BCV) is the central bank of Venezuela. It maintains a fixed exchange rate for the Venezuelan bolívar and since 1996 is the governing agent of the Venezuelan Clearing House System ...
on 17 April 2019.[ U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated that, "While this designation will inhibit most Central Bank activities undertaken by the illegitimate Maduro regime, the United States has taken steps to ensure that regular debit and credit card transactions can proceed and personal remittances and humanitarian assistance continue unabated and are able to reach those suffering under the Maduro regime’s repression."][ The new sanctions closed some loopholes that allowed for continued financing of the government. The Central Bank was able to obtain loans without seeking approval from the National Assembly. It also sold gold to the central banks of other countries. By interrupting the foreign exchange handled by the Central Bank, PDVSA purchases of production supplies were impacted.]
The Venezuelan banking sanctions caused a rippled effect in that the New York Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
decided to restrict opening of new accounts in Puerto Rico's offshore banking industry, and planned tighter restrictions in that area.
CLAP
On 25 July 2019, the United States Department of Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...
imposed sanctions on 10 people and 13 companies (from Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
(China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
), Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
, Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and the U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
) in a Venezuelan food subsidy called "CLAP", which includes stepsons of President Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
and a Colombian businessman Alex Saab
Alex Nain Saab Morán ( ar, أليكس صعب; born 21 December 1971) is a Colombian businessman. Saab was the subject of journalistic investigations for conducting businesses estimated at US$135 million with the Venezuelan government, while othe ...
. According to a statement by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the Cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for a full pres ...
, "The corruption network that operates the CLAP program has allowed Maduro and his family members to steal from the Venezuelan people. They use food as a form of social control, to reward political supporters and punish opponents, all the while pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars through a number of fraudulent schemes." The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida charged Saab and another Colombian businessman with money laundering related to a 2011-15 scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela's government-set exchange rate.
The Maduro government rejected the sanctions, calling it sign of "desperation" by "the gringo empire." President Maduro said "Imperialists, prepare for more defeats, because the CLAP in Venezuela will continue, no one takes the CLAP away from the people." A '' communique'' from the Venezuelan foreign ministry "denounces the repeated practice of economic terrorism by the US government against the Venezuelan people, announcing measures whose criminal purpose is to deprive all Venezuelans of their right to food
The right to food, and its variations, is a human right protecting the right of people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individual ...
."
Colombian businessman Alex Saab
Alex Nain Saab Morán ( ar, أليكس صعب; born 21 December 1971) is a Colombian businessman. Saab was the subject of journalistic investigations for conducting businesses estimated at US$135 million with the Venezuelan government, while othe ...
has sold food to Venezuela for more than USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
200 million in a negotiation signed by President Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
through a registered company in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. On 23 August 2017, the Venezuelan attorney general, Luisa Ortega Díaz
Luisa Marvelia Ortega Díaz (born 11 January 1958) is a Venezuelan lawyer. Between December 2007 and August 2017, she served as the Prosecutor General of Venezuela. A proponent of the Chavismo ideology, Ortega Díaz was fired as Prosecutor Gene ...
, named Alex Saab as the owner of the Mexican firm Group Grand Limited, 26 along with Colombian businessmen Álvaro Pulido and Rofolfo Reyes, "presumably President Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
" and dedicated to selling food to the CLAP. Saab would have met Álvaro Pulido in 2012, when he was dedicated to supplying the Saab company, but this activity would have stopped doing it in 2014.
On 19 April 2018, after a multilateral meeting between over a dozen European and Latin American countries, United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
officials stated that they had collaborated with Colombian officials to investigate corrupt import programs of the Maduro administration including CLAP. They explained that Venezuelan officials pocketed 70% of the proceeds allocated for importation programs destined to alleviate hunger in Venezuela. Treasury officials said they sought to seize the proceeds that were being funneled into the accounts of corrupt Venezuelan officials and hold them for a possible future government in Venezuela.
An April 2019 communication from the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
highlighted the 2017 National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
investigation finding that the government paid US$42 for food that cost under US$13, and that "Maduro's inner circle kept the difference, which totaled more than $200 million dollars in at least one case", adding that food boxes were "distributed in exchange for votes".[ Referencing ]
On 17 September 2019, the United States Department of Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...
expanded further sanctions on 16 entities (from Colombia, Italy and Panama) and 3 individuals, accusing them of helping the Venezuelan government to "corruptly profit from imports of food aid and distribution in Venezuela".
Gasoline
Since late 2019, the U.S. has prevented sending gasoline by Venezuela's fuel suppliers. while the own once-formidable refining industry of Venezuela cannot produce gasoline and country is facing a chronic shortage of gasoline. This action is part of Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign to overthrow Maduro.
Canada
Canada sanctioned 40 Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, in September 2017.[ Also a]
Punto de Corte
an
El Nacional
/ref> The sanctions were for behaviors that undermined democracy after at least 125 people were killed in the 2017 protests and "in response to the government of Venezuela's deepening descent into dictatorship"; Chrystia Freeland
Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Libe ...
, Foreign Minister said, "Canada will not stand by silently as the government of Venezuela robs its people of their fundamental democratic rights".[ Canadians were banned from transactions with the 40 individuals, whose Canadian assets were frozen.][ The Canadian government holds that Maduro played a "key role in the political and economic crisis", and its sanctions targeted "members of his cabinet and officials from Venezuela's military, Supreme Court and National Electoral Council".][ Freeland said the sanctions were intended to pressure Maduro to "restore constitutional order and respect the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people".][ She added that Canada had delayed in imposing sanctions because Canadian laws did not allow it to do so quickly.][
The Canadian regulations of the ''Special Economic Measures Act'' prohibited any "person in Canada and any Canadian outside Canada from: dealing in property, wherever situated, that is owned, held or controlled by listed persons or a person acting on behalf of a listed person; entering into or facilitating any transaction related to a dealing prohibited by these Regulations; providing any financial or related services in respect of a dealing prohibited by these Regulations; making available any goods, wherever situated, to a listed person or a person acting on behalf of a listed person; and providing any financial or other related services to or for the benefit of a listed person."] A number of exceptions to the noted prohibitions were added.[
]
November 2017 additions
In addition to the 40 individuals sanctioned under the ''Special Economic Measures Act'' in September, on 23 November 2017, Canada added sanctions under the ''Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act''. "These individuals are responsible for, or complicit in, gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, have committed acts of significant corruption, or both." Three of the 19 individuals added to the Canadian list had already been sanctioned in September (Maduro, Tareck El Aissami
Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...
and Gustavo González López[), bringing to 56 the total number of individuals sanctioned by Canada as of 2017.]
May 2018 additions
Responding to the 20 May 2018 presidential elections, Canada sanctioned 14 more Venezuelans. Canada's ''Special Economic Measures (Venezuela) Regulations'' were amended on 30 May 2018 because, since the first sanctions were imposed, the "economic, political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has continued to worsen as it moves ever closer to full dictatorship." The government said the 2018 presidential election was "illegitimate and anti-democratic,"[ and sanctioned Maduro's wife, ]Cilia Flores
Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro (born 15 October 1956) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. She is married to the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, making her the First Lady. Since 2015, she has also been a deputy in the National Assembly of ...
, along with 13 other members of the ANC and TSJ.
April 2019 additions
On 15 April 2019, Canada announced that another round of sanctions on 43 individuals were applied on 12 April based on the ''Special Economic Measures Act''. The government statement said those sanctioned are "high ranking officials of the Maduro regime, regional governors and/or directly implicated in activities undermining democratic institutions", and that:These measures are being taken in response to the Maduro regime’s anti-democratic actions, particularly relating to the repression and persecution of the members of the interim government, censorship, and excessive use of force against civil society, undermining the independence of the judiciary and other democratic institutions.
Foreign Minister Freeland stated, "The Maduro dictatorship must be held accountable for this crisis and depriving Venezuelans of their most basic rights and needs. Canada is committed to supporting the peaceful restoration of constitutional democracy in Venezuela."
The newly sanctioned Venezuelans included Jorge Arreaza
Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August ...
, Maduro's Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
.[ In response, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry has accused Canada of supporting Trump's "war adventure" and said that Prime Minister ]Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
"has invalidated Canada as a reliable actor in dialogue."
European Union
In 2017, the European Union had approved an embargo on arms and material, adding Venezuela along with North Korea and Syria, to countries where European companies cannot sell material that may be used for repression. in 2018, those sanctions were continued for another year because of "human rights violations and undermining of democracy and the rule of law under President Nicolás Maduro".
The European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
sanctioned seven Venezuela officials on 18 January 2018, singling them out as being responsible for deteriorating democracy in the country: Diosdado Cabello
Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela
, atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
, Néstor Reverol
Néstor Luis Reverol Torres (born 28 October 1964) holds the position of Minister of the People's Power for Interior Relations and Justice of Venezuela and is currently Commander General of the National Guard of Venezuela. On 3 August 2016, he w ...
(Interior Minister), Gustavo González López (Head of Intelligence), Antonio Benavides Torres (National Guard Commander), Tibisay Lucena
Tibisay Lucena was the president of the National Electoral Council or CNE until 2020, one of the five branches of government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. She was first elected to this post in 2006, and was reelected in 2009 for the 2 ...
(Head of Electoral Council), Maikel Moreno
Maikel José Moreno Pérez (born 12 December 1965) is a lawyer, doctor of Venezuelan constitutional law, and judge who currently serves as president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela.
Moreno is currently a fugitive as part of an in ...
(Supreme Court President), and Tarek William Saab
Tarek William Saab Halabi (, ar, طارق وليام صعب حلبي; born 10 September 1962) is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer and poet. He is a leader of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) party founded by Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, ...
(Attorney General). The sanctioned individuals were prohibited from entering the nations of the European Union, and their assets were frozen. Cabello, known as number two in Chavismo
''Chavismo'' (from es, chavismo), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez th ...
, had not been sanctioned by the U.S. when the European Union sancioned him.[
The Venezuelan government appealed the sanctions in the ]European General Court
The General Court, informally known as the European General Court (EGC), is a constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It hears actions taken against the institutions of the European Union by individuals and member stat ...
in February 2018 that included the arms embargo and material that could be used for internal repression. The EGC dismissed the appeal on 20 September 2019.
On 25 June 2018, the EU sanctioned another eleven officials in response to the May 2018 Venezuelan presidential election, which the E.U. described as "neither free nor fair", stating that "their outcome lacked any credibility as the electoral process did not ensure the necessary guarantees for them to be inclusive and democratic". The additional sanctions bring the total to eighteen Venezuelans under a travel ban and asset freeze in European nations. The sanctioned individuals included Tareck El Aissami
Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...
(Vice President of Economy and Minister for Industry and Production, formerly SEBIN
The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
); Freddy Bernal
Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales is the ex-mayor of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas, Venezuela and a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Law enforcement
Prior to becoming a politician, the BBC says he "commanded a notor ...
(Head of Local Committees for Supply and Production
The Local Committees for Supply and Production (Spanish: ''Comité Local de Abastecimiento y Producción'', CLAP) are food distribution committees promoted by the Venezuelan government in which the communities themselves supply and distribute th ...
and SEBIN commissioner); Elías Jaua
Elías José Jaua Milano (born 16 December 1969) is a Venezuelan politician and former university professor who serves as the Minister of Education of Venezuela. He served as the vice president of Venezuela from January 2010 to October 2012 and ha ...
(Minister of Education and former head of Presidential Commission for the ANC); and Delcy Rodríguez
Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan politician serving as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. She was also Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014, Mini ...
(Vice President).
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
reported in April 2019 tension between the US and the EU over increasing sanctions; EU nations are reluctant to apply sanctions to a nation, despite evidence that Russia's aid is propping up Maduro, but are still considering tougher sanctions on individuals in his government. Spain was still receiving Venezuelan oil in repayment for debt as of 10 April 2019 and many Spanish companies still operate in Venezuela.
In June 2019, the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reported that five EU member states (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands) were considering imposing sanctions on President Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
and several top officials for their recent crackdown on political opponents following the April 30 uprising. However, EU member states are divided over the timing of any action for fear of derailing a negotiated exit to the country's crisis.
Entry bans
Lima Group
After Nicolás Maduro's second inauguration, on 7 January 2019, the Lima Group
The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
, except for Mexico, announced that they would follow Peru's decision and ban the entry of people linked with Maduro's administration. The Lima Group is made up of Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
(until 24 March 2021), Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
, Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
, Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
and Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
.
Colombia
Colombia has not directly sanctioned Venezuelans, rather has banned figures close to Maduro from entering the country. Christian Krüger Sarmiento, director of Colombia Migration, announced on 30 January 2019 that the Colombian government maintained a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion. As of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime", but Krüger said the initial list could increase or decrease. Krüger said, "We are not going to allow this kind of collaborators of a dictatorship to come to stay in our country and to hide in our country." The list—which would not be disclosed in its entirely—is headed by Maduro, his wife Flores, Cabello, and Delcy Rodríguez and encompasses Venezuela's military leadership. The decision to ban collaborators of the Maduro administration from entering Colombia came after the Lima Group
The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
disavowed Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela.[ Based on the list, the head of a company commissioned by the Maduro administration, Monómeros Colombovenezolanos, was not allowed to enter Colombia, nor was , a Venezuelan singer seeking entry for a performance.] Maduro's cousin, Argimiro Maduro Morán, and family were turned back when they sought refuge in Colombia during the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts
Nationwide recurring electrical blackouts in Venezuela began in March 2019. Experts and state-run Corpoelec (Corporación Eléctrica Nacional) sources attribute the electricity shortages to lack of maintenance and to a lack of technical experti ...
.[ In March, Édgar Alejandro Lugo Pereira—an active military person who works for Venezuela's Foreign Ministry—was detained and expelled; he was carrying US$14,000 and 20 passports.][
]
Other
As of 27 March 2018, the Washington Office on Latin America said 78 Venezuelans associated with Maduro had been sanctioned by different countries.[
]
Panama
On 27 March 2018, Panama sanctioned 55 public officials[ Also a]
Panama Economic and Finance Ministry
and 16 businesses that operate in Panama,[ Also a]
Panama Economic and Finance Ministry
related to the family of Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores
Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro (born 15 October 1956) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. She is married to the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, making her the First Lady. Since 2015, she has also been a deputy in the National Assembly of ...
. Panama thus become the first country in Latin America to sanction the Maduro administration, joining the US, Canada, the European Union and Switzerland. The sanctioned businesses have members of the Malpica-Flores family on their boards of directors.[
The sanctions imposed by Panama triggered a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, which ended on 26 April 2018, when Maduro announced that he had called Panamanian President ]Juan Carlos Varela
Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez (; born 13 December 1963) is a Panamanian businessman and former politician who served as the President of Panama from 2014 to 2019.
Varela was Vice President of Panama from 2009 to 2014, and Minister of Foreign ...
and they had agreed to restore diplomatic relations.
Switzerland
Switzerland implemented sanctions against Venezuela on 28 March 2018, freezing the assets of seven ministers and high officials due to human rights violations and deteriorating rule of law and democracy.[ Also a]
Diario Las Americas
/ref> The sanctions mimicked those of the European Union. Switzerland was "seriously concerned by the repeated violations of individual freedoms in Venezuela, where the principle of separation of powers is severely undermined and the process in view of the forthcoming elections suffers from a serious lack of legitimacy".[
On 10 July 2018, Switzerland imposed sanctions against the eleven Venezuelans that were sanctioned by the European Union in June 2018.]
Mexico
The Mexican Senate froze the assets of officials of the Maduro administration and prohibited them from entering Mexico on 20 April 2018; the officials sanctioned were: Antonio Benavides Torres, Delcy Rodríguez, Diosdado Cabello, Maikel Moreno, Néstor Reverol, Tarek William Saab, and Tibisay Lucena.[ Also a]
VPITV
/ref>
On 18 July 2019, the Mexican Ministry of Finance froze bank accounts of 19 companies related to the sale of low quality and over-priced food to the Venezuelan government's CLAP program. Moreover, the ministry has opened an investigation relating to money laundering after detecting "irregularities for more than 150 million dollars."
Curaçao
On 21 June 2019, Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
announced a gold import and transit ban on Venezuela that was made effective immediately after its announcement. In the word of its prime minister Eugene Rhuggenaath
From the 29th of May 2017 until the 14th of June 2021, Eugene Rhuggenaath (born 4 February 1970) was the Curaçaoan 7tPrime ministerbefore Gilmar Pisas won the 2021 elections. He previously served as Minister for Economic Development in the Koei ...
: "Criminal investigations that have been conducted on the ABC islands give an indication that the trade in and transport of Venezuelan gold and the resulting cash flows can be accompanied by (drug or other) smuggling, forgery and money laundering. This entails integrity and security risks that cause great concern both locally and internationally".
United Kingdom
After Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
has continued to issue sanctions aligned with the EU. In July 2021 the UK issued a series of sanctions that included Colombian businessman Alex Saab
Alex Nain Saab Morán ( ar, أليكس صعب; born 21 December 1971) is a Colombian businessman. Saab was the subject of journalistic investigations for conducting businesses estimated at US$135 million with the Venezuelan government, while othe ...
, which included the freezing of assets and travel bans. Álvaro Enrique Pulido, also pointed out as his associate, was also sanctioned, in both cases for ""exploiting two of Venezuela's public programs that were established to provide poor Venezuelans with affordable food and housing", saying that "They both benefited from improperly awarded contracts, in which promised goods were delivered at highly inflated prices. Their actions caused more suffering to Venezuelans who were already in poverty for their own private enrichment."
Evasion
Some ships' captains and owners sympathetic to Venezuela are "going dark", turning off their transponders locations, to avoid the U.S. sanctions and deliver oil to Russia, China, and India. Turning off the transponders creates an environmental risk of ship collisions.
In January 2020, despite the entry ban imposed by the European Union, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez
Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan politician serving as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. She was also Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014, Mini ...
met in the guest area of the Madrid–Barajas Airport with Spain's minister José Luis Ábalos
José Luis Ábalos Meco (born 9 December 1959) is a Spanish politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party serving as Member of the Congress of Deputies since 2009. He has served as minister of Development (of Transport, Mobility and Urban A ...
from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
*
*
* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
.
Minister of Industries and National Production Tareck El Aissami
Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...
announced in October 2018 in response to US sanctions that all foreign exchange
The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...
government auctions will no longer be quoted in US dollars
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from Dollar, other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American ...
and would use euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s, Chinese yuan
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 202 ...
and other hard currencies instead. El Aissami said the government would open bank accounts in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
as potential workarounds to financial sanctions. In addition, Venezuela's banking sector will now be able to participate in currency auctions three times a week, adding that the government would sell some 2 billion euros amid a rebound in oil prices.
As of 2020, Mexico defied the United States sanctions by allowing fuel shipments to Nicolás Maduro.
In May 2020, despite the sanctions on both Iran and Venezuela, Iran sent five oil tankers to Venezuela during fuel shortages in the country.
Responses
After the sanctions were issued, Venezuela has continued to ship oil and send money to ally countries. In April 2022, Venezuela sent a shipment of 200,000 fuel oil barrels and 190,000 diesel barrels to Cuba, for the Matanzas storage terminal. The same month, Venezuela paid Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...
' debt with Petrocaribe, estimated to have been around $189 million dollars.
Public Opinion
A poll conducted among Venezuelans found that 68% believed that the sanctions had a negative impact on their quality of life.
Analyses and reports
Economists agree that shortages and high inflation in Venezuela began before US sanctions were directed towards the country. ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' says that economists place the blame for Venezuela's economy shrinking by half on "Maduro's policies, including widespread nationalizations, out-of-control spending that sparked inflation, price controls that led to shortages, and widespread graft and mismanagement." Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
has stated that the collapse of global oil prices in 2020, alongside the sanctions, have contributed to fuel shortages in the country. The Venezuelan government has stated that the United States is responsible for its economic collapse. The HRW/Johns Hopkins report noted that most sanctions are "limited to canceling visas and freezing assets of key officials implicated in abuses and corruption. They in no way target the Venezuelan economy."[ The report also stated that the 2017 ban on dealing in Venezuelan government stocks and bonds allows exceptions for food and medicine, and that the 28 January 2019 PDVSA sanctions could worsen the situation, although "the crisis precedes them".][ ''The Washington Post'' stated that "the deprivation long predates recently imposed US sanctions".][
]David Smolansky
David Smolansky Urosa (born 27 May 1985) is a Venezuelan politician, journalist, one of the leaders of the Popular Will party and former Mayor of El Hatillo municipality in Caracas, Venezuela for the period 2014–2017. He was recognized by th ...
, Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
Commissioner for Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees, in Public Radio International
Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States.
PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...
said the sanctions prior to 2019 targeted Maduro and Chavismo
''Chavismo'' (from es, chavismo), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez th ...
"elites" while having little impact on average Venezuelans.[ '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' stated in 2019 that "the deprivation long predates recently imposed US sanctions".[ Also available a]
The Independent
/ref>
In 2018, during the 167th session of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...
, nutrition expert Susana Raffalli, advisor to PROVEA
The ''Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights'' or PROVEA ( es, Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos) is one of the most prominent Venezuelan human rights organizations. According to the United Nations Human R ...
and Caritas Organization of Venezuela, stated that nutrition was arguably the best indicator that showed how the crisis preceded the sanctions, explaining that 36% of children in the country suffered from stunted growth
Stunted growth is a reduced growth rate in human development. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition (or more precisely undernutrition) and recurrent infections, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, ...
, which was a symptom of problems that dated at least seven years, 2011 by then. She also cited the PDVAL affair as an example of food shortages before sanctions, when tons of food supplies were imported and later decomposed in 2010. Raffali further criticized the "millionaire" expending in the electoral campaign for the presidential elections
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pr ...
that were taking place that year, which suggested that spending to solve the crisis was not a priority for the ruling party.
The same year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
(OHCHR) documented that "information gathered indicates that the socioeconomic crisis had been unfolding for several years prior to the imposition of these sanctions". Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
, High Commissioner for OHCHR, updated the situation in a March 2019 oral report following the visit of a five-person delegation to Venezuela, saying that the government had not acknowledged or addressed the dramatically deteriorating conditions, and she was concerned that although the "pervasive and devastating economic and social crisis began before the imposition of the first economic sanctions", the sanctions could worsen the situation.
In a February 2019 United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
press conference surrounded by diplomats from 16 other countries, including Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza
Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August ...
said that economic sanctions have "blocked" the Venezuelan economy, costing it US$30 billion. Reporting on Arreaza's statements, the ''Associated Press'' said that Maduro was blocking aid, and "saying that Venezuelans are not beggars and that the move is part of a U.S.-led coup".
A 2019 report from two "prominent, left-leaning US economists", Mark Weisbrot
Mark Alan Weisbrot is an American economist and columnist. He is co-director with Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, D.C. Weisbrot is President of Just Foreign Policy, a non-governmental organization ...
and Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs () (born 5 November 1954) is an American economist, academic, public policy analyst, and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he holds the title of University Professor. He is known for his work ...
, claimed that a 31% rise in the number of deaths between 2017 and 2018 was due to the 2017 sanctions, and that 40,000 people in Venezuela may have died as a result. The report stated: "The sanctions are depriving Venezuelans of lifesaving medicines, medical equipment, food, and other essential imports."[ Weisbrot stated that he "could not prove those excess deaths were the result of sanctions, but said the increase ran parallel to the imposition of the measures and an attendant fall in oil production".][ They estimated that there were "more than 300,000 people who are estimated to be at risk because of lack of access to medicines or treatment because of sanctions on the country. That includes 16,000 people who need dialysis, 16,000 cancer patients and roughly 80,000 people with HIV" The report's findings and methodology were described as invalid by the ]Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
. They stated that "the bulk of the deterioration in living standards occurred long before the sanctions were enacted in 2017."
Economist Ricardo Hausmann
Ricardo Hausmann (born 1956) is the former Director of the Center for International Development currently leading the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab and is a Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the John F. ...
and research fellow Frank Muci published a rebuttal to the report in Americas Quarterly
''Americas Quarterly (AQ)'' is a publication dedicated to politics, business and culture in the Americas.
Distribution
''AQ'' has an established relationship with NTN24, an online news channel from Colombia with three million viewers, to broadca ...
, noting that to make their point, Weisbrot and Sachs take Colombia as a counterfactual
Counterfactual conditionals (also ''subjunctive'' or ''X-marked'') are conditional sentences which discuss what would have been true under different circumstances, e.g. "If Peter believed in ghosts, he would be afraid to be here." Counterfactual ...
for Venezuela, and arguing that Colombia is not a good counterfactual. In their rebuttal, they explain that the oil production trends between both countries were very different in the decade before sanctions and that two countries are also radically different in other dimensions. The rebuttal also states that just a month after the financial sanctions in late 2017, Nicolás Maduro fired both the relatively technocratic PDVSA president and oil minister and replaced them with a single military general with no experience in oil, who in turn fired and imprisoned over 60 senior managers of the oil company, including its previous president, on corruption charges, while nothing remotely similar happened in Colombia, thus confounding the effects of the sanctions with those of the firing. Journalist Fernando Núñez-Noda described the assertion as false; he points out that even the report admits we will never know "what the counterfactual data would have been" (i.e. what would have happened without the sanctions), and shows that the report minimizes the responsibility of Maduro's government in the deaths).
A US State Department spokesperson commented that, "as the writers themselves concede, the report is based on speculation and conjecture".[ The spokesperson added: "The economic situation in Venezuela has been deteriorating for decades, as Venezuelans themselves will confirm, thanks to Maduro's ineptitude and economic mismanagement."][ Venezuelan economist ]Ricardo Hausmann
Ricardo Hausmann (born 1956) is the former Director of the Center for International Development currently leading the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab and is a Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the John F. ...
asserts that the analysis is flawed because it makes invalid assumptions about Venezuela based on a different country, Colombia, saying that "taking what happened in Colombia since 2017 as a counterfactual for what would have happened in Venezuela if there had been no financial sanctions makes no sense". Calling it "sloppy reasoning", the authors also state that the analysis failed to rule out other explanations, and failed to correctly account for PDVSA finances.
In April 2019, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...
jointly published a report entitled "Venezuela's humanitarian emergency: Large-scale UN response needed to address health and food crises", noting that most early sanctions were "limited to canceling visas and freezing assets of key officials implicated in abuses and corruption. They in no way target dthe Venezuelan economy."[ Also available i]
Spanish.
/ref> The report also stated that the 2017 ban on dealing in Venezuelan government stocks and bonds allows exceptions for food and medicine, and that the 28 January 2019 PDVSA sanctions could worsen the situation, although "the crisis precedes them".
In an interview in late May 2019, Guaidó said that the sanctions had weakened a network of Cuban spies that was allegedly operating in Venezuela.
Hours after the United States imposed sanctions on Luis Parra
Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero (born 7 July 1978) is a Venezuelan politician who was in a dispute with Juan Guaidó for a year over who was the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela based on a vote on 5 January 2020.
The investigative jou ...
and seven other National Assembly deputies in relation to 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election
The 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election was to be held in the ordinary session of the National Assembly on 5 January, in which 160 deputies were to elect the legislature's board of directors for the year 2020–21: the pr ...
, Maduro's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza
Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August ...
published a statement saying that the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury seek to "interfere and undermine the proper functioning of democratic institutions, with the unusual intention to designate from Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
the authorities of the legislative power." The statement also argues that these tactics are "contrary to international law and undermine the stability, peace and self-determination of the Venezuelan people."
An October 2020 report published by the Washington Office on Latin America
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is a United States non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Washington Offi ...
(WOLA) by Venezuelan economist Luis Oliveros found that "while Venezuela’s economic crisis began before the first U.S. sectoral sanctions were imposed in 2017, these measures 'directly contributed to its deep decline, and to the further deterioration of the quality of life of Venezuelans' ". The report concluded that economic sanctions "have cost Venezuela’s government as much as $31 billion since 2017"
In late 2020, ''Transparencia Venezuela'' published a report analyzing the impact of international sanctions on Venezuela, describing the economic and political context before their application, the reasons provided and offering different interpretations of their political, social and economic effects, and thus the Venezuelan life quality as well. The report concludes that a documental analysis left clear that economic sanctions had affected public finance in Venezuela, limiting income sources and public spending, as well as restricting Petróleos de Venezuela
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, ) (English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and production ...
, all of which in turn has caused harm in the country's economic activity. However, the report continues concluding that this did not mean that said sanctions were responsible for the "institutional, political, economic, social and environmental crisis that has characterized Venezuela for more than a decade"; on the contrary, it points out that the evolution of indicators in these fields before the sanctions revealed the development of a crisis caused by the "kleptocratic, inefficient and authoritarian" Venezuelan administration.
Consultancy firm ANOVA Policy Research published on 20 January 2021 a report on the impact of international sanctions against Venezuela between 2017 and 2019. The report concluded that the sanctions were linked to a decrease in monthly oil production, an increase in monthly food importation and an increase in monthly medicine importation, detailing that despite a partial responsibility of the decline of oil production, there was no evidence of negative effects on the importation of food and medicines. The analysis also reported there was no causal relationship between economic sanctions and an actual increase in the importation of food and medicines. Moreover, the economic data was likely skewed due to the liberalization of the Venezuelan economy in late 2017, when price controls were abandoned for imported products.
Alena Douhan
Alena Douhan ( be, Алена Доўгань) of Belarus is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, as 25 March 2020. When appointed, she was a professor of ...
, United Nations special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures, visited Venezuela from 30 January to 12 February 2021 to investigate the impact of international sanctions. Before her visit, 66 Venezuelan NGOs (including PROVEA
The ''Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights'' or PROVEA ( es, Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos) is one of the most prominent Venezuelan human rights organizations. According to the United Nations Human R ...
) asked Douhan in an open letter to consider the harmful impact of sanctions in the context of years of repression, corruption and economic mismanagement that predate the sanctions, and requested she meet independent press and civil society researchers. She was welcomed on arrival by a government minister and the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN. In her preliminary report, Douhan said that the economic pressure imposed by the US, the EU and other countries "have exacerbated the economic and humanitarian calamities in Venezuela", but that Venezuela's economic decline "began in 2014 with the fall in oil prices" and that "mismanagement and corruption had also contributed." Douhan also asked the US, UK and Portugal to release an estimated $6 billion in frozen Venezuelan foreign assets. The government welcomed the report, while the opposition accused her of "playing into the hands of the regime" of Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019.
Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
. Douhan was criticized by the Venezuelan civil society, and several non-governmental organizations pronounced themselves in social media with the hashtag "''#Lacrisisfueprimero''" (The crisis came first).
Persons sanctioned
Legend:
Person currently sanctioned
Person no longer sanctioned
Entities sanctioned
Legend:
See also
* Cartel of the Suns
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
* International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
International sanctions have been imposed against Russia and Crimea during the Russo-Ukrainian War by a large number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, and international organisations following the Russia ...
*
* International sanctions against Iran
There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its inva ...
* International sanctions during apartheid
As a response to South Africa's apartheid policies, the international community adopted economic sanctions as condemnation and pressure.
On 6 November 1962, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 1761, a non-binding resolution ...
* United States embargoes
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
Sanciones internacionales: ¿Origen o fin de la crisis?
, Transparencia Venezuela
Impacto de las Sanciones Financieras Internacionales contra Venezuela: Nueva Evidencia
, ANOVA
{{Bolivarian Venezuela Crisis, state=collapsed
2010s in politics
Crisis in Venezuela
Foreign relations of Venezuela
International reactions to the crisis in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
Political history of Venezuela
Venezuelan presidential crisis
Venezuela–European Union relations