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The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on family members and associates of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as Washington ratchets up pressure on the Venezuelan president.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on seven people it said were tied to Maduro and his wife. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused them of “propping up Nicolás Maduro’s rogue narcostate.”
“We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding our nation with deadly drugs,” Bessent said.
“Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten our hemisphere’s peace and stability. The Trump administration will continue targeting the networks that prop up his illegitimate dictatorship.”
Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maduro and his government have vehemently denied links to crime and say that the U.S. is seeking to oust him in order to take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Expanded military presence
In recent months, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been ratcheting up pressure on Maduro, executing a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean.
After a series of attacks on alleged ‘narco traffickers’ off Venezuela, the U.S. has deployed its largest aircraft carrier to the region. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner explains why President Trump’s show of force may go far beyond fighting drugs.
It has carried out strikes against suspected drug vessels in the region, seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and declared a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
Trump has also repeatedly said that strikes on land in Venezuela are coming soon.
Friday’s action sanctioned relatives of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, the nephew of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores. The U.S. says Malpica Flores was involved in a corruption plot at state oil company PDVSA. He was sanctioned by Washington last week.
His mother — the sister of Maduro’s wife — as well as his father, sister, wife and daughter were hit with sanctions on Friday.
