President Donald Trump raised pressure on Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela on Tuesday by sanctioning Rosneft Trading, a subsidiary of Russian oil company Rosneft, to prevent it from helping Caracas sell its crude in world markets and thus providing oxygen to the Venezuelan government.
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The measure of the Department of Treasury of the United States seeks to suffocate the coffers of the Venezuelan government since the commercialization of oil represents close to the 95% of exports of the crumbling Venezuelan economy.
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“The United States took action to stop the theft of the Maduro regime from the assets of Venezuela and the continuing usurpation of democracy by sanctioning Rosneft Trading SA, a brokerage incorporated in Switzerland owned by Russia, for operating in the Venezuelan oil sector,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a measure that had been anticipated at the beginning of February.
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“As their broker primary of global agreements for the sale and transport of Venezuelan cruso, Rosneft Trading has underpinned the dictator Maduro, allowing his repression of the Venezuelan people “added Pompeo, who said earlier an American official with knowledge of the subject spoke over the weekend with his Russian peer, Sergei Lavrov, about the sanctions on the Rosneft unit.
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Specifically, the punishment freezes the US assets of Rosneft Trading and its chairman, Didier Casimiro.
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Earlier, the US official with knowledge of the subject told reporters that Washington “is not going to look at how extracontinental entities help Maduro” and recalled that Trump supported a “democratic transition” in Venezuela during his speech on the State of the Union . That night, the head of the Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, recognized by dozens of countries as interim president of the South American country, was applauded in Congress.
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The new US sanctions were backed by the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, who said that “Russia, using Rosneft, has plundered our wealth for its benefit and at the expense of the suffering of the people of Venezuela.”
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“It has become the country that has given the greatest support to the worst tyranny in the region. It is responsible for the tragedy as well,” Vecchio added in his Twitter account.
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Russia, using Rosneft, has looted our wealth for its benefit and at the expense of the suffering of the people of Vzla. It has become the country that has given the greatest support to the worst tyranny in the region. He is responsible for the tragedy too
& mdash; CARLOS VECCHIO (@carlosvecchio) February 18, 2020
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‘Camouflaging’ oil miles away from Venezuela
Officials also explained earlier which one the modus operandi to move Venezuelan crude in international markets. It is done through a transfer of crude oil between tankers. First the oil is loaded in Venezuela and then, thousands of miles away, it is transferred to another vessel that generally has Asia as its destination.
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That’s when the trail of the origin of Venezuelan oil is lost, which until now has been the source of 9 out of every 10 dollars that enter Venezuela, ravaged by a deep recession and unstoppable inflation which has devastated Venezuelans and generated a strong migration.
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The new measure of the United States supposes a “strong blow” for the Maduro government, considered Francisco Monaldi, consultant on issues of the Venezuelan oil industry and professor of energy policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
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“It looks like a heavy blow since Rosneft is the largest marketer of Venezuelan crude oil. It will be more difficult to export and will raise discounts and reduce revenues” from the Maduro government, he told Univision Noticias. For Rosneft Trading, the expert added, this is not “a threat but a cost imposed on your business.”
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