Currently, the Treasury Department has financial sanctions on 112 individuals and the State Department has revoked the visas of hundreds of individuals. Yet, it is important to note that the economic disaster in Venezuela is due to policies established by Chavez’s government and Maduro’s regime, not by economic sanctions. For over a decade, the United States has implemented sanctions to members of the Venezuelan regime and individuals as a response to the regime’s irregular activities. These sanctions have focused on drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and human rights violation cases.
The first time an entity was included in any of the sanctions was on September 25th, 2018, when Quiana Trading Limited, AVERUCA, C.A. and Panazeate SL were sanctioned for being owned or controlled by Sarria Diaz. Sarria,a key front person, referred to as testaferro, for the President of the illegitimate Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, has laundered money for Venezuelan officials by buying real estate since 2010, according to the OFAC.
However, it wasn’t until January 28th, 2019, that the U.S. imposed a sanction directly to PDVSA. Therefore, the claims that hold the United States responsible for Venezuela’s economic disaster are disproveng because the sanctions were not directly associated to entitiesuntil January 28th, 2019.
The first time an entity was included in any of the sanctions was on September 25th, 2018, when Quiana Trading Limited, AVERUCA, C.A. and Panazeate SL were sanctioned for being owned or controlled by Sarria Diaz. Sarria,a key front person, referred to as testaferro, for the President of the illegitimate Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, has laundered money for Venezuelan officials by buying real estate since 2010, according to the OFAC.
However, it wasn’t until January 28th, 2019, that the U.S. imposed a sanction directly to PDVSA. Therefore, the claims that hold the United States responsible for Venezuela’s economic disaster are disproveng because the sanctions were not directly associated to entitiesuntil January 28th, 2019.
How did the richest country in Latin America with the biggest oil reserves in the world, go bust?
Click here if you are interested in seeing the list of Venezuela-related sanctions in the United States
Another misconception is that with such sanctions the United States, Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer, was going to stop buying oil from Venezuela. However, data shows otherwise. It wasn’t until 2019 that the U.S. stopped buying oil from Venezuela. In fact, considering the U.S. Energy Information Administration data, the rate at which the U.S. was buying oil from Venezuela stayed steady until late 2017, decreased to an average of 500,000 barrels per day and then decreased significantly at the beginning of 2019.
Ultimately, this further proves that the sanctions were targeted mainly at high profile individuals from the Maduro regime, instead of the oil industry. The United States ceased buying oil from Venezuela, once Maduro becomes constitutionally illegitimate.
