The US Security Council has informed US refineries that plans to sanction the import of Venezuelan crude.
The measure will be adopted as part of the intensification of economic restrictions against Caracas, promoted by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo; and National Security Adviser John Bolton, revealed the US energy publisher S & P Global Platts on Wednesday, citing White House sources.
Due to the dependence of US refineries on the 500,000 barrels imported daily from Venezuela, the White House has resisted for a long time directly embargoed the Venezuelan oil sector, however, imposed sanctions against the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).
The tenant of the White House has also imposed sanctions against the gold of Venezuela and several officials of the South American country, including President Nicolás Maduro himself. “The radicals are in charge now and want to use the strong hand against Venezuela. (…) If they are going to do something, they will go for the most severe (action),” commented the risk management analyst, Joe McMonigle.
If adopted, the measure is in line with the intensification of US rhetoric against the Government of Caracas, after the Venezuelan opposition decided to ignore the legitimacy of Maduro’s new term on January 5.
Washington toughened the financial embargoes against Venezuela after Maduro was re-elected president of the Bolivarian country in the elections held on May 20, 2018, a vote that Washington called a “farce.”
ahn / ktg / tmv / mjs
Translated by JRE/AR
