Credit: wikipedia / Entrance of the  Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.  PDVSA  office located  in Maracaibo, Venezuela 

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC TIMES

The Trump administration announced Monday it will sanction  Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm  Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. PDVSA in a further attempt to turn up the heat on Nicholas Maduro’s regime. 

“Today, the United States has taken necessary actions to prevent the illegitimate former Maduro regime from further plundering Venezuela’s assets and natural resources. Maduro and his cronies have used state-owned PDVSA to control, manipulate, and steal from the Venezuelan people for too long, destroying it in the process.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Jan. 28, 2019.

The chaotic political drama in Venezuela continues to unfold fast and furious ever since opposition leader Juan  Guaidó declared himself the country’s interim president amid nationwide protests Wednesday, in a bid to seize power from Maduro.   The U.S. immediately backed  Guaidó’s action that many characterize as a ‘coup’.    Pompeo said Monday that the U.S. has determined that persons operating in Venezuela’s oil sector may now be subject to sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850 signed by President Trump on November 1, 2018.  Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) has been designated for operating within this sector.  The sanctions are said to include  $7 billion in Venezuelan assets. National Security Adviser John Bolton said at a press conference that sanctions would reduce the country’s exports by $11 billion over the next year. 

Citgo Petroleum, a Houston-based unit of PDVSA, will be able to continue to operate but won’t be allowed to remit money to the Maduro regime, as its proceeds must instead be held in blocked U.S. accounts.  Oil production is the lifeblood of the Latin American country.  Venezuela possesses the world’s largest oil reserves.  The U.S. is the primary destination for Venezuelan crude oil shipments, and receives about 41% of Venezuela’s total exports, according to the Energy Information Administration.