Trump Administration Sanctions More Companies With Ties to Venezuela

The Trump administration is sanctioning four more companies with ties to Venezuela’s oil industry in the latest escalation of pressure on the South American country.The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also identified four associated oil tankers on Wednesday that it said are part of a shadow fleet serving Venezuela.The administration claims that President Nicolás Maduro’s regime is increasingly dependent on the shadow fleet to avoid sanctions. The Treasury Department warned that companies and individuals involved in the Venezuelan oil trade face significant sanctions risks.“President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said in a statement. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime.”The sanctions allow America to seize assets and punish anyone or any company that knowingly conducts or facilitates transactions on behalf of those facing sanctions. The Trump administration has been turning up the heat on Caracas in an effort to force Mr. Maduro from power. On Tuesday, the administration sanctioned 10 individuals and firms accused of taking part in the sale of Iranian drones to Venezuela.The United States military has been building up forces in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific for several months, sinking at least 30 boats suspected of drug trafficking, and more recently imposed an oil blockade. The American military has seized two oil tankers while another ship was chased away from Venezuela.On Wednesday, the United States Southern Command reported that it had conducted kinetic strikes against three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy.Three people aboard the first vessel were killed and others abandoned the other two boats by jumping overboard, the command said in an X post. Additional strikes sank those boats and search and rescue teams were sent to find any survivors.The command reported a day earlier that two men were killed in an attack on a suspected drug boat on Monday.Also on Monday, Mr. Trump confirmed a Christmas Eve attack on a dock in Venezuela that he said was being used to load drugs onto boats. He wouldn’t identify the agency or military service involved but the New York Times reported it was carried out by the CIA.

Trump Administration Sanctions More Companies With Ties to Venezuela

More from the New York Sun

Where Is Pope Leo While Iran Kills Its Protesters?

Jack Smith’s ‘Chief Operating Officer,’ J.P. Cooney, Runs for Congress To ‘Finish the Job’ and Impeach Trump

Phone-Free Dining Gains Ground as American Bars and Restaurants Restrict Screens

More from the New York Sun

Where Is Pope Leo While Iran Kills Its Protesters?

Jack Smith’s ‘Chief Operating Officer,’ J.P. Cooney, Runs for Congress To ‘Finish the Job’ and Impeach Trump

Phone-Free Dining Gains Ground as American Bars and Restaurants Restrict Screens

Melania Trump Denounces Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Hateful and Violent Rhetoric’ Mocking Her Ahead of Press Gala, Urges ABC To ‘Take a Stand’

DeSantis Gets Aggressive With Congressional District Map, Aiming To Add Four GOP Seats: Report

Growth Meets Pressure: WNBA’s 30th Season Features Expansion, Star Power and Rising Stakes

Revisiting Candid Conversations With Michael Jackson About Film and Family

Warren Says Justice Department’s Pledge To End Federal Reserve Investigation Is an Empty Promise