On Tuesday, the administration of US President Donald Trump hit members of a network supposedly led by Colombian businessman Alex Saab with sanctions, whose goal was to commercialize Venezuelan crude oil while evading sanctions Washington imposed on state oil company PDVSA. 2019.
The U.S. government, which first sanctioned that network in June 2020, this Tuesday (one day after Trump leaves the White House) decided to update its sanctions and imposed economic restrictions on three individuals, 14 entities and 6 ships. , he said. the Treasury Department in a statement.
According to Washington, this criminal network was led by Venezuela’s economic vice president Tareck El Aissami and Colombian businessman Alex Saab, alleged frontman of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and imprisoned in Cape Verde awaiting extradition to the United States. US, accused of money laundering.
“Those who facilitate the unlawful Maduro regime’s attempts to circumvent US sanctions are contributing to the corruption consuming Venezuela,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Among those sanctioned is Italian Alessandro Bazzoni, who was reportedly in charge of connecting two other sanctioned companies: Element, based in Malta and purchased by PDVSA, and Swissoil, based in Switzerland, which was responsible for the transportation of Venezuelan crude oil to the Asian market.
According to the Treasury, following the June 2020 arrest of Saab in Cape Verde and sanctions against Mexican businessman Joaquín Leal, Bazzooni took charge of coordinating negotiations for the resale of PDVSA’s Venezuelan oil and chartering ships. to transport the crude oil.
Spanish-Venezuelan citizen Francisco Javier D’Agostino Casado, who worked with Saab, Leal and Bazzoni to coordinate crude oil purchases and sales on behalf of PDVSA, has also been penalized.
The other designated by the Treasury is Swiss Philipp Paul Vartan Apikian, owner and director of Swissoil, who, according to the US, has been involved in the sale and transportation of oil from Venezuela.
As a result of this action in Washington, all property and assets that these persons or companies have in the US or are in the possession of Americans will be blocked and any transaction by US citizens with them is prohibited.
Since his arrival at the White House in 2017, the Trump administration has imposed countless rounds of economic sanctions on the Maduro Executive, whom it considers “ illegal. ”
The US is one of the most loyal allies of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who was recognized by more than 50 countries as the interim president of Venezuela in 2019.
The Venezuelan government hopes that Democrat Joe Biden’s new administration, which will hold the US presidency tomorrow, Wednesday, will receive “a glimpse of decency”, abide by international law and establish “diplomatic channels for respectful dialogue”.
It remains to be seen what the policy will be around Biden, who opts for a more pragmatic and less ideological approach.