The Trump administration is escalating its fight against Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, this time with sanctions against members of Maduro’s inner circle and Venezuelan companies in the country’s oil sector.
The Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday against three nephews of Maduro’s wife, a Maduro-affiliated businessman, and six shipping companies in Venezuela’s oil sector.
“Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
“These sanctions undo the Biden Administration’s failed attempt to make a deal with Maduro, enabling his dictatorial and brutal control at the expense of the Venezuelan and American people. Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes.”
Two of the nephews are convicted drug traffickers who were part of the Biden administration’s 2022 prisoner exchange with the Maduro regime. They are thought to have continued drug trafficking in Venezuela following the deal.
The Trump administration’s sanctions also target Venezuela’s oil sector because of the central role it plays in financing Maduro’s regime. Treasury’s sanctions announcement says the six sanctioned shipping companies move Venezuelan oil, and the sanctioned Panamanian businessman has facilitated petroleum shipments on Maduro’s behalf.
The new sanctions reflect the Trump administration’s hardline stance against the Maduro regime. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a central figure in the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy intent on weakening Maduro’s stronghold over Venezuela.
“The U.S. government will continue to deny financial lifelines to the illegitimate Maduro regime, which he uses to oppress the Venezuelan people. The United States is committed to keeping the American people safe by using all available means to eliminate threats of narco-trafficking and crime throughout our hemisphere,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in what marked the latest escalation with Maduro. Attorney General Pam Bondi shared video of the operation to social media and said the tanker was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.”
“For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues,” Bondi stated.
The Venezuelan government accused the U.S. of “a blatant theft and an act of international piracy” in a statement criticizing the tanker seizure. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces over one million barrels of oil daily.