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U.S. sanctions Venezuelan state oil firm, escalating pressure on Maduro
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/u-imposes-sanctions-venezuelan-state-210932863.htmlWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Monday imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA, the toughest U.S. financial challenge yet to the country's embattled socialist president, Nicolas Maduro.
The sanctions ratchet up pressure against Maduro to step aside and turn over power to Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader who proclaimed himself interim president last week and was immediately recognised by the United States and a host of other countries.
"We have continued to expose the corruption of Maduro and his cronies and today's action ensures they can no longer loot the assets of the Venezuelan people," U.S. national security adviser John Bolton told reporters at a White House briefing.
President Donald Trump's order freezes U.S.-based assets of PDVSA, Venezuela's largest source of revenue and the owner of U.S. refining arm Citgo Petroleum, the OPEC member's most important foreign asset.
