Trump puts new curbs on Venezuela in bid to pressure Maduro

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump imposed further sanctions on Venezuela, freezing the government’s assets in the US and adding immigration restrictions in a move aimed at stepping
up pressure on the regime of Nicolas Maduro.
Property belonging to the Venezuelan government “may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in,” Trump said in an executive order by the White House. The US will also block entry into the US by any Venezuelan citizen determined to have assisted or acted on Maduro’s behalf.
Together, the moves put Venezuela on the same footing as countries like North Korea and Iran that the US has sought to isolate from the rest of the world, and threaten nearly any company or person who deals with the country with exile from the international financial system.
While the new order is sweeping in scope, it’s unclear whether the new measures will have a significant impact since the vast majority of the Venezuelan government’s income derives from oil and gold — two areas where Maduro’s regime already faces heavy sanctions.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council didn’t respond to a request for comment about whether companies like Chevron Corp — which was just granted a three-month waiver allowing it to continue producing oil and gas in the country — would be impacted by Trump’s latest move.
Chevron is reviewing the Trump order, said Kent Robertson, a company spokesman. “We continue to believe that we are a constructive presence in the country,” he said via email.
The order follows months of unsuccessful efforts to pressure Maduro into leaving office.
Those include the US recognition of Juan Guaido, the leader of Venezuela’s national assembly, as the country’s legitimate leader, and the imposition of sanctions on more than 100 Venezuelan individuals and
entities including the oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
Trump told reporters he was considering a blockade or quarantine of Venezuela. And White House officials have warned that Maduro had only a short window to voluntarily leave power or face stricter measures.
Trump’s move comes as his national security adviser, John Bolton, is set to appear at a conference in Lima of nations that have recognised Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who’s also expected to attend the conference in Peru, last week outlined plans to rebuild Venezuela’s financial institutions and infrastructure.
“Venezuela will continue to deteriorate until the internationally recognised government of Juan Guaido implements needed economic, political and social reforms,” Ross said in a speech to Latin American business executives in Brasilia.
More than 50 countries including the US have recognised Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president following Maduro’s 2018 re-election, which was tainted by high voter abstention and claims of fraud. Guaido in April urged China, the world’s largest oil importer, to also abandon support for Maduro.
The threat of sanctions from the US will likely deter many individuals and companies from doing business with the Venezuelan government going forward. Yet it’s unclear whether countries with closer relations with Caracas — including China and Russia — will follow suit, potentially dulling the full impact of the new measures on the Venezuelan government.
Francisco Rodriguez, Torino Capital chief economist, said the order essentially formalised “a de facto ban on transactions between US persons and the Venezuelan government.”