WASHINGTON--The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on a military-run Venezuelan oil services company and restricting insurance coverage for Venezuelan oil shipments to increase pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a U.S. official said.
With Maduro running for another term in an election that Washington and its allies regard as a sham, the United States is weighing sanctions that would target Venezuela’s vital oil sector beyond what has been done before, the official told Reuters on Wednesday. Some measures could come before the vote and others could be imposed afterwards.
The official, who is close to U.S. internal deliberations on Venezuela policy and who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not rule out an eventual full-scale ban on Venezuelan oil shipments to the United States, among the toughest of oil-related sanctions. “I think (it would cause) a fairly strong shock to the oil market in the short term,” the official said.
The official stressed that no decisions have been made and that any U.S. action would take into consideration potential harm to ordinary Venezuelans, already suffering from food shortages and hyperinflation, and the country’s neighbours as well as the impact on the U.S. oil industry and consumers. Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on potential further sanctions.
Maduro, himself subject to sanctions last year, regularly laughs off Washington's disapproval and blames the U.S. "empire" for his country's economic woes, saying it is trying to undermine Venezuela's leftist government. Venezuela was the fourth largest supplier of crude oil and products to the United States in 2017, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Its crude oil sales to the United States last year were the lowest since 1991, according to Thomson Reuters trade flows data.
“Oil sanctions are not taken lightly,” the official said. “This would be a fairly strong escalation for U.S. policy, whether it’s a complete oil sanction or salami slices of different graduated steps.”
President Donald Trump's administration is also considering possible sanctions against additional military and political figures, including Socialist Party No. 2 Diosdado Cabello, the official said. Experts say sanctions on individuals have had little or no impact on the Venezuelan government’s policies.
Washington’s crafting of new sanctions comes as Venezuela’s main opposition coalition is boycotting the election, citing “fraudulent” conditions. Venezuela's election board postponed the presidential vote from April 22 to the second half of May on Thursday after an agreement between the government and some opposition parties.
