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U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Venezuela in Latest Challenge to Maduro

HeadlineJan 29, 2019

The United States has placed sweeping new sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA in the latest attempt to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The sanctions will cut off an essential source of income for Venezuela, which is already facing a massive economic crisis. They come a week after the U.S. announced it was recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the president of Venezuela. In a recent interview on Fox Business, national security adviser John Bolton openly said U.S. oil companies could benefit from what’s happening in Venezuela.

John Bolton: “We’re in conversation with major American companies now that are either in Venezuela or, in the case of Citgo, here in the United States. I think we’re trying to get to the same end result here. You know, Venezuela is one of the three countries I call the troika of tyranny. It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela. It’d be good for the people of Venezuela. It’d be good for the people of the United States.”

Minnesota Congressmember Ilhan Omar tweeted Monday, “Trump’s new sanctions on Venezuela are nothing more than economic sabotage designed to force regime change by starving the very people we claim to be helping. We must lift these, & other sanctions impacting Venezuela’s poor, & support dialogue between the opposition & government.” Omar is one of only a handful of lawmakers who have condemned U.S. support for the opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

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