Trump freezes Venezuelan government assets

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets in a dramatic escalation of tensions with Nicolás Maduro.

The ban, blocking American companies and individuals from doing business with Maduro’s government and its top supporters, took effect immediately Monday and is the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades, following an asset freeze against Gen. Manuel Noriega’s government in Panama and a trade embargo on the Sandinista leadership in Nicaragua in the 1980s.

While the order falls short of an outright trade embargo — notably, it spares Venezuela’s still sizable private sector — it represents the most sweeping U.S. action to remove Maduro since the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful leader in January. Critically, it also exposes foreign entities doing business with the Maduro government to U.S. retaliation.

The executive order signed by President Donald Trump justified the move by citing Maduro’s “continued usurpation of power” and human rights abuses by security forces loyal to him.

(Agencies)