Iran Press/America: The US announced Monday that it was introducing sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil giant PDVSA just a week after recognizing the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the South American country's interim president, according to Sputnik.
In an apparent intervention, Washington has certified the authority of Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido to control some assets held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or any other US-insured banks, the State Department announced on Tuesday.
On Monday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a press conference to announce that the US had blocked all assets of Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA under its jurisdiction and banned deals with the firm.
Venezuelan petroleum company Citgo will continue operating in the US, but its profits will go into a blocked account, only accessible to Guaido’s government, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin explained.
Mnuchin added that sanctions will only be lifted upon the “expeditious transfer of control to the interim president, or the subsequently democratically elected interim government.”
Maduro has denounced the sanctions as an attempt to “steal” Citgo from Venezuela and said that PDVSA will take legal action.
The leader of Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly, Juan Guaido, declared himself acting president last week.
Shortly afterward, the US President, Donald Trump recognized Guaido as president of the country, Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro has condemned the decision of a number of countries to recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s acting president and broke diplomatic ties with Washington.
Maduro also has called for military exercises in response to US President Donald Trump's threat of possible military action.
Russia and China, have both opposed America's support for Guaido and condemned any international interference in Venezuela.
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