U.S. punishes oil network for helping Venezuela evade sanctions – By Jean Lotus (UPI) / January 19 2021
Jan. 19 (UPI) — The United States on Tuesday sanctioned a network of oil entities that officials say have helped Venezuela escape existing penalties for transactions, a day after punishing a Russian ship involved in building an underwater gas pipeline to Germany.
The new measures target a network of individuals and entities that officials say are attempting to help Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro evade existing U.S. sanctions and sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil.
The U.S. Treasury said the sanctions target three people, fourteen entities and six vessels.
“Those facilitating the illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to circumvent United States sanctions contribute to the corruption that consumes Venezuela,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
