Rosneft Trading S.A., a Swiss-incorporated, Russian-owned oil brokerage firm.

By Gary  Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

The U.S. Trump adminstration Thursday imposed sanctions on Rosneft PJSC’s subsidiary TNK Trading International SA for transporting  Venezuelan crude oil which it said is helping prop up the regime of Nicholas Maduro.  Last year, the U.S. recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the major OPEC nation’s legitimate interim president, followed by a series of economic sanctions against Maduro’s government.  The U.S. has accused  Russia, Cuba, and China as the major players helping keep Maduro in power a year after Guidao proclaimed himself as the Latin American nation’s president.

“On March 12, the United States took action against another Russian oil brokerage firm helping to prop up the former Maduro regime by sanctioning TNK Trading International S.A. (TNK) for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy.  Following the recent Treasury designation of Rosneft Trading S.A. (RTSA), TNK was directly involved in efforts to assist RTSA evade U.S. sanctions.  TNK, incorporated in Switzerland, is a subsidiary of Russian state-controlled Rosneft Oil Company. “

-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 

Last month, the Trump administration sanctioned    Rosneft Trading S.A., a Swiss-incorporated, Russian-owned oil brokerage firm, operating in Venezuela’s oil sector.  “As the primary broker of global deals for the sale and transport of Venezuela’s crude oil, Rosneft Trading has propped up the dictatorial Maduro, enabling his repression of the Venezuelan people,” Pompeo said at the time.  The latest actions follow the designation of RTSA on February 18, 2020, and the subsequent change in allocation of cargoes of Venezuelan oil from RTSA to TNK, Pompeo said.   In January 2020 alone, TNK purchased nearly 14 million barrels of crude oil from Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), he added.

“The people of Venezuela, interim President Juan Guaido, and the democratically elected National Assembly need the continued support of our international partners.  We call on the international community to join us in applying stronger pressure on Maduro and his corrupt former regime to relinquish its illegitimate hold on power in Venezuela.  The United States, in coordination with international partners, will continue to increase the pressure on Maduro and his enablers until freedom and prosperity are restored in Venezuela.”  -Secretary of State Pompeo.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department,  TTI, which Rosneft Oil Company obtained control over in December 2017, is registered in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. TTI is involved in the trading, processing, and transport of raw materials, in particular unrefined petroleum and petroleum products. TTI is being designated today pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, as amended. Together, TTI and RTSA handled a large percentage of Venezuela’s oil exports in 2019. In January 2020, TTI purchased nearly 14 million barrels of crude oil from Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA).