US official: US eyes more Venezuelan sanctions
WASHINGTON—The United States plans to turn up sanctions pressure on Venezuela but sees less need to immediately target its energy sector, given sagging production from the OPEC member's state-run oil company, a senior US administration official said on Wednesday.
The US government has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Venezuelan military and political figures close to socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who it blames for trampling on human rights and triggering the country's economic collapse.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration had weighed escalating sanctions by targeting a Venezuelan military-run oil services company or restricting insurance coverage for oil shipments.
The actions would have built upon last year's ban for US banks from any new debt deals with Venezuelan authorities or state-run oil giant PDVSA.
Asked by reporters whether the US government had slowed down on its push for sectoral sanctions, the senior official described them as some of the many "tools" it is keeping in reserve. "With regards to Venezuela, all options are on the table," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The fact is that the greatest sanction on Venezuelan oil and oil production is called Nicolas Maduro, and PDVSA's inefficiencies," the official said.
Venezuela's crude oil production hit a 28-year low in 2017, a slump blamed on poor management and corruption.
"At the end of the day, Nicolas Maduro has taken care of really running PDVSA to the ground, and essentially more and more making it a non-factor," he said.
