The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on family members and associates of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as Washington steps 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 linked to Maduro and his wife. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused them of “supporting Nicolas Maduro’s rogue narcostate.”
“We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding our country with deadly drugs,” Bessent said.
“Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten the peace and stability of our hemisphere. The Trump administration will continue to target networks that support his illegitimate dictatorship.”
Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maduro and his government have vehemently denied any links to crime and say the United States is seeking to oust him to gain control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
In recent months, the administration of US President Donald Trump has increased pressure on Maduro, implementing a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean.
It has carried out strikes against ships suspected of drug trafficking in the region, seized a sanctioned tanker off the coast of Venezuela and declared a “blockade” of all sanctioned tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
Trump has also repeatedly stated that ground strikes in Venezuela would be imminent.
Friday’s action sanctioned relatives of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, the nephew of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores. The United States claims Malpica Flores was involved in a corruption conspiracy at the national 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 sanctioned on Friday.
The Treasury also on Friday extended a general license protecting Venezuelan refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors until February 3, which was set to expire on December 20. This was a much shorter extension than the last extension granted by the Treasury in June, which was for six months.
Washington has protected the Houston-based company from creditors in recent years, even amid a court-ordered auction of shares in its parent company, PDV Holding. The license temporarily prohibits transactions with a bond issued by Venezuela and secured by Citgo shares.
A U.S. judge in November allowed the sale of shares in Citgo Petroleum’s parent company to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, after approving a $5.9 billion bid from the company in a court-organized auction to pay Venezuela-linked creditors.
The sale order, which is awaiting approval by the Treasury Department, was the last major legal step to close a two-year auction aimed at paying up to 15 creditors for defaults and expropriations.
