Washington, United States
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on members of a network allegedly led by Colombian businessman Alex Saab, whose goal was to commercialize Venezuelan crude oil while evading sanctions Washington imposed on the state oil company PDVSA in 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 the Colombian businessman. Alex Saab, alleged frontman of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and imprisoned in Cape Verde awaiting extradition to the United States, has been accused of money laundering.
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“Those who facilitate the illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to circumvent US sanctions are contributing to the corruption consuming Venezuela,” the government said. Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin.
Among those who have been sanctioned is and the Italian Alessandro Bazzoni, which was presumably responsible for connecting two other sanctioned companies: Element, based in Malta and purchased by PDVSA, and Swissoil, based in Switzerland and responsible for transporting 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.
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The other designated by the treasury is the Swiss Philipp Paul Vartan Apikian, owner and director of Swissoil, who according to the US has been involved in the sale and transport 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 arriving at the White House in 2017, the Trump administration has imposed countless rounds of economic sanctions against the US Maduro Executive, which he considers “illegal”.
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The US has been one of the world’s most loyal allies. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, recognized as interim president of Venezuela by more than fifty countries in 2019.
The Government of Venezuela hopes that Democrat Joe Biden’s new administration, to 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.