WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Monday it would allow lawsuits by U.S. citizens against dozens of Cuban companies and other entities on Washington’s blacklist but will maintain, for now, a ban against suing foreign firms doing business on the communist-ruled island.

The move marked an intensification of U.S. pressure on Cuba and also appeared aimed at punishing Havana over its support for Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. But it stopped short of the more severe step of targeting foreign investments in Cuba - though it left the door open to doing so in the future.

Lawsuits in U.S. courts against potentially dozens of Cuban entities linked to military and intelligence services will be permitted beginning on March 19. But Washington will keep in place until at least April 17 a prohibition against legal action against foreign firms using property confiscated in the 1960s by the Cuban government, the State Department said.

Every U.S. president has suspended on a rotating six-month basis a section of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act that would allow such lawsuits due to opposition from the international community and fears it could create chaos in the U.S. court system with a flood of lawsuits.

But President Donald Trump’s administration first announced in January a 45-day review of the matter and has now added another 30 days for further study.

A complete lifting of the ban could let billions of dollars in legal claims move forward in U.S. courts and likely antagonize Canada and U.S. European partners, whose companies have significant business holdings in Cuba.

It could also affect some U.S. companies that have begun investing in the island since former President Barack Obama’s opening to the old Cold War foe.

Allowing the provision to go into effect even on a limited basis could undermine efforts by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to foster foreign investment and promote tourism to bolster the Caribbean island’s fragile economy.

A senior State Department official said the Trump administration had consulted with Canada and European partners in deliberations on how to proceed.

Under Monday’s announcement, lawsuits will not be authorized against foreign partners in joint ventures with the Cuban government, the official told reporters. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Monday it would allow lawsuits by U.S. citizens against dozens of Cuban companies and other entities on Washington’s blacklist but will maintain, for now, a ban against suing foreign firms doing business on the communist-ruled island.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. and Cuban flags are seen before a ceremony for the arrival of Carnival cruise ship ms Veendam during its first trip to Cuba in Havana, Cuba, December 28, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

The move marked an intensification of U.S. pressure on Cuba and also appeared aimed at punishing Havana over its support for Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. But it stopped short of the more severe step of targeting foreign investments in Cuba - though it left the door open to doing so in the future.

Lawsuits in U.S. courts against Cuban enterprises, many linked to military and intelligence services, will be permitted beginning on March 19. But Washington will keep in place until at least April 17 a ban on legal action against foreign firms using property confiscated by the Cuban government since the 1959 revolution, the State Department said.

Every U.S. president has suspended on a rotating six-month basis a section of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act that would allow such lawsuits by Cuban-Americans and other U.S. citizens due to opposition from the international community and fears it could create chaos in the U.S. court system with a flood of legal claims.

But President Donald Trump’s administration first announced in January a 45-day review of the matter and has now added another 30 days for further study while allowing the act’s controversial Title III on private legal actions to be partially activated for the first time.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said he “strongly rejected” the U.S. action against Cuban companies “arbitrarily sanctioned” by the Trump administration. The 30-day waiver for other cases, he said in a message on Twitter, amounted to an “unacceptable threat against the world.”

A complete lifting of the ban could let potentially billions of dollars in legal claims move forward in U.S. courts and likely antagonize Canada and U.S. European partners, whose companies have significant business holdings in Cuba.

It could also affect some U.S. companies that have begun investing in the island since former President Barack Obama’s opening to the old Cold War foe.

Allowing the provision to go into effect even on a limited basis could undermine efforts by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to foster foreign investment and promote tourism to bolster the Caribbean island’s fragile economy.

“The decision today adds obstacles to our development and economic goals, but the United States will continue to fail in its central aim of subjecting the sovereign will of Cubans by force,” Cuba’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

CONSULTATIONS WITH CANADA, EUROPEANS

A senior State Department official said the Trump administration had consulted with Canada and European partners in deliberations on how to proceed.

Under Monday’s announcement, lawsuits will not be authorized against foreign partners in joint ventures with the Cuban government, the official told reporters.

The administration had initially prepared to open the door wider to litigation, exempting only U.S. companies and those from allied countries, but it decided in the end on a more limited approach for now, a person familiar with the discussions said.

Among the foreign companies heavily invested in Cuba are Canadian mining firm Canadian Sherritt International and Spain’s Melia Hotels. U.S. companies, including airlines and cruise companies, have forged business deals in Cuba since the easing of restrictions under Obama.

U.S.-Cuban relations have nosedived since Trump became president, partially rolling back the detente initiated by Obama and reverting to Cold War-style rhetoric. A six-decade-old U.S. economic embargo on Cuba has also remained officially intact.

With Monday’s announcement, the administration made clear that it was not only acting because of what the State Department official called “the Cuban state’s repression of its own people” but also to send a message about Havana’s role in Venezuela.

“Cuba continues to maintain close relations to Russia and China and has destabilized Venezuela, leading to mass flows of refugees and of course public health threats,” the official said.

Trump aides have regularly denounced Cuba for what they say is political and security assistance helping Maduro to keep his grip on power since opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked the Venezuelan constitution in January and swore himself in as interim president.

Washington and dozens of other countries have recognized Guaido, but Maduro, who says he is being targeted by a U.S.-directed coup attempt, is backed by Cuba as well as Russia and China and retains control of state institutions, including the military.

Trump’s toughened stance on Cuba as well as Venezuela has gone down well in the large Cuban-American community in south Florida, an important voting bloc in a key political swing state as he looks toward his re-election campaign in 2020.

John Bolton, who became Trump’s national security adviser last April, called Cuba and its top allies Venezuela and Nicaragua a “troika of tyranny” in Miami speech in November. </s> The Trump administration partially reversed more than two decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba on Monday, authorizing lawsuits by American citizens against Cuban government entities “trafficking” in property that was confiscated six decades ago by the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the administration was lifting a prohibition against such suits, as long as they were filed against one of about 200 companies and businesses in which the Cuban security services have a financial interest. Last year, U.S. companies and travelers were prohibited from conducting any business with the listed Cuban entities.

The new step comes as the administration tightens the economic screws on Cuba in an attempt to move back from the Obama-era opening to the island. That effort has intensified with administration accusations that Cuba is the main prop holding up the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro.

“Today expect the United States to take the first in a series of steps to hold the regime in #Cuba accountable for its 60 years of crimes & illegality which includes its support for the murderous #MaduroCrimeFamily,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote on Twitter early Monday in anticipation of the announcement.

Others saw an additional motive. “This is all about Florida 2020,” where thousands of Venezuelans are a voting bloc along with the always-important Cuban Americans, said Richard Feinberg, a professor of international economy at the University of California at San Diego and a Latin America specialist.

“It’s clear that by this action, we are ratcheting up pressure on the Cuban government,” said a senior State Department official who briefed reporters on a department-imposed condition of anonymity.

The measure allows legal claims only against property held by the listed Cuban entities and for now, at least, does not affect any foreign investment or the foreign part of joint ventures with those entities. In 30 days, the official said, the administration will assess the situation and decide, among other things, whether to expand it.

“In addition to taking this action,” the official said, “we are also continuing to encourage the international community to press Cuba on human rights . . . encouraging anyone doing business in Cuba to consider, whether intentionally or not, they’re trafficking in confiscated property and therefore abetting the regime’s repression.”

At stake are potentially hundreds of thousands of claims — nearly 6,000 of them already certified by the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission — billions of dollars, and protracted legal and diplomatic battles with U.S. and foreign companies operating on property claimed by original owners.

An unprecedented aspect of the act, at odds with traditional practice and international law, would allow Cuban Americans who were not U.S. citizens at the time their property was taken to make claims in federal court.

Most of the existing and potential claimants fled the island in the years immediately after Castro took over the government in January 1959. The properties range from vacation beach houses to some of Cuba’s largest state-owned and joint-venture companies. Cuba’s intelligence and military services are involved in many of the businesses, particularly in the tourism sector.

The measure is part of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, commonly called Helms-Burton after the lawmakers who initiated it. The law codified and expanded the economic embargo against Cuba’s communist government — applying it to foreign countries and mandating that it remain in place until lifting it was determined to be in the U.S. national interest and would expedite Cuba’s return to democracy.

The bill, initially opposed by many Democrats, was passed and signed by President Bill Clinton after Cuban fighter jets, in February 1996, shot down two private planes operated by a Miami-based humanitarian group. Cuba disputed that the planes were over international waters.

But the law’s Title III provision, allowing U.S. citizens to sue for three times the current value of confiscated property worth more than $50,000, has been suspended every six months since it was enacted, as successive administrations determined it would be harmful to U.S. trade and relationships with allies that have investments in Cuba.

Several European countries, along with Canada and Mexico, passed laws prohibiting cooperation with any of its extraterritorial provisions, and the European Union threatened to bring it before the World Trade Organization.

As it continues to push for Maduro’s ouster in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom more than 50 countries have recognized as Venezuela’s interim president, the administration has repeatedly charged Cuba — along with Russia and China — with keeping Maduro in office.

“Part of the problem in Venezuela is the heavy Cuban presence, 20,000 to 25,000 Cuban security officials,” White House national security adviser John Bolton told CNN on Sunday.

Josefina Vidal, Cuba’s ambassador to Canada, spoke out Monday against a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation report repeating Bolton’s charges. Vidal said there were 20,000 Cubans in Venezuela, 94 percent of them health workers and the rest “in other sectors such as education,” according to Prensa Latina, the Cuban news service.

In years past, Cuba sent thousands of physicians and other health workers to Venezuela in exchange for sharply discounted — or free — oil shipments that have now been substantially curtailed as Venezuelan production has lagged.

But while there are disagreements over the numbers, many experts in this country say thousands of Cuban intelligence and military personnel are also in Venezuela, where they hold significant sway over forces loyal to Maduro’s government.

Although the administration has increased economic pressure on Cuba, even those who disagree with U.S. policy have been leery of investment there.

“The main deterrent to foreign investment in Cuba is the Cuban government itself,” Feinberg said. “The domestic economy is stagnant if not declining . . . they have severe foreign exchange problems and delays in repatriation of money. Who’s going to invest under those circumstances? Not a lot of companies.” </s> The State Department on Monday announced it would allow lawsuits to be brought against Cuba companies and individuals by people whose property was seized by the communist government during and after Fidel Castro's revolution in the late 1950s.

In the United States' latest move to punish Cuba and encourage democracy in the communist nation, the State Department announced it would suspend for 30 days part of the 1996 Libertad Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act, and allow some lawsuits to be brought against companies using properties confiscated by the Cuban government after its 1959 revolution.

"Even under a new president in Cuba, nothing has changed," a senior State Department official said Monday. "The U.S. is holding the Cuban regime responsible."

Every president since Bill Clinton has suspended the section of the act that would allow such lawsuits because they could snarl companies from U.S.-allied countries – like the United Kingdom, France and Spain – in years of complicated litigation that could prompt international trade claims against the United States. The State Department, however, made clear that any lawsuits brought in U.S. federal courts would target Cuban entities and sub-entities, not ones owned or controlled by U.S. allies.

Allowing a limited number of lawsuits could make investment in Cuba more burdensome for companies thinking of entering the market, who will now have to do additional research into their legal liability, but it is unlikely to be a major blow against the Cuban economy.

"This is the first time we're not fully suspending this section of the Libertad Act," the senior State Department official said. "We're giving claimants the opportunity to sue for their property."

While State Department officials said the move was focused on advancing the cause of individual rights in Cuba, other officials also linked the actions to Havana's role in supporting the regime of disputed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

CUBA CITES LACK OF EVIDENCE IN MYSTERIOUS SONIC ATTACKS ON DIPLOMATS

In a tweet on Monday, National Security Adviser John Bolton blamed Cuba for its role in “fomenting repression in Venezuela” and said the U.S. would be tightening financial restrictions.

“Cuba’s role in usurping democracy and fomenting repression in Venezuela is clear,” Bolton tweeted. “That’s why the U.S. will continue to tighten financial restrictions on Cuba’s military and intel services. The region’s democracies should condemn the Cuba regime.”

Caracas and other parts of the South American nation continue to be plagued by widespread shortages of basic supplies and political unrest.

On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on six high-ranking members of the Venezuelan security forces and revoked the visas of other officials and their relatives in the latest effort to pressure Maduro to relinquish power.

The sanctions are in response to the blocking of humanitarian aid convoys last week while the visa revocations on dozens of individuals are intended to punish people who have flourished amid the South American country's dire economic crisis, Elliott Abrams, the special representative for Venezuela, told reporters.

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Maduro's forces fired tear gas and buckshot at activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid in violent clashes on Feb. 23, leaving two people dead and about 300 injured.

"Maduro supporters that abuse or violate human rights, steal from the Venezuelan people or undermine Venezuela's democracy are not welcome in the United States," Abrams said. "Neither are their family members who enjoy a privileged lifestyle at the expense of the liberty and prosperity of millions of Venezuelans."

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido arrived back in the country on Monday as hundreds of protestors gathered in a Caracas plaza, heeding a call from the self-declared interim president to turn out for his expected return to Venezuela.

Dozens of countries – including the U.S. – have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader, arguing that last year's re-election of Maduro was invalid.

Guaido returned from a tour of several Latin American nation where he was hoping to drum up support among regional leaders for his claim to leadership in Venezuela.

After nearly 60 years of a trade embargo, meanwhile, the Cuban economy is in a period of consistently low growth of about 1 percent a year, with foreign investment at roughly $2 billion. But tourism, remittances and subsidized oil from Venezuela have allowed the government to maintain basic services.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> The Trump administration is about to impose a new batch of sweeping sanctions against the Cuban authorities over their support for the government of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Fox News reported, citing a source familiar with POTUS’ national security team.

READ MORE: US Treasury Fines German Chemical Company for Violating Cuba Embargo

The move would reportedly be an application of the Helms-Burton Act – a 1996 law, which includes a provision that, if activated, would allow Cuban-Americans who hold US citizenship to sue foreign corporations and individuals over property seized by the Cuban government.

The so-called Title III provisions of the law have been waived by every president since its creation in 1996, but in January President Trump’s administration decided to suspend its terms for 45 days, rather than the customary six months that his predecessors have routinely invoked.

“This extension will permit us to conduct a careful review of the right to bring action under Title III in light of the national interests of the United States and efforts to expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba. We encourage any person doing business in Cuba to reconsider whether they are trafficking in confiscated property and abetting this dictatorship”, the State Department said in a statement at the time.

In response, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the Trump administration’s move as “political blackmail” and a “brutal attack against international law”.

Cuba, along with Russia, Iran, Turkey and many other countries, refused to follow Washington’s suit and recognise Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.

Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the United States has been attempting to sabotage the communist government in Havana, having severed diplomatic ties with the island and introduced a trade embargo on it.

READ MORE: 'End Game': US Venezuela Envoy Wants Maduro to Flee to Russia or Cuba

In 2014, Barack Obama’s administration announced a decision to normalise relations with Cuba, subsequently lifting some restrictions on bilateral exchanges. However, in June 2017, President Trump reversed the Obama-era policy and imposed new limitations on economy, trade and travel.

The United States has been increasingly involved in the political crisis in Venezuela, voicing outright support for Juan Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president, challenging the legitimately elected Nicolas Maduro.

On 3 March, Duque said that Maduro’s “days in power are about to end” because of mounting pressure on his “Mafioso” government and the allegedly increasing number of military defectors:

“Maduro is facing his last days, whether that’s one month or two, or one week, or one day”, he said, adding that “nobody has seen Maduro weaker”.

President Maduro previously accused the US of staging a coup d’etat in the country and said that a group of Venezuelan military defectors were conspiring in Colombia to sabotage the armed forces at his command.

READ MORE: US Claims on 'Maduro's Days Numbered' Mean Cuba, Nicaragua Will Be Next — Lavrov

In addition, he dismissed the Trump-Duque meeting as a “feast of hatred” toward Venezuela, and refused to allow the US humanitarian aid, stockpiled in Colombia, into the county, saying that it might be used as a pretext for foreign invasion. </s> MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) – US claimants can begin bringing suits against Cuban entities in US federal courts beginning on March 19, according to a senior State Department official.

The entities that can be sued starting later this month are on the on the State Department’s Cuba Restricted List, meaning they are under the authority of the Cuban military, intelligence, and security forces.

Foreign businesses operating on the island will be excluded from any lawsuits under the decision to partially suspend Title III of the Libertad Act.

The decision to not fully suspend Title III will allow Americans who have claims to property or assets seized in the 1959 Cuban revolution to bring lawsuits if they haven’t received payment from the Cuban government.

The US government has waived Title III of the Act every year since 1996 preventing a swathe of lawsuits being launched against businesses including hotel chains, cruise-ship companies and airlines operating in Cuba.

The official said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decided against hitting European countries doing business in Cuba, but added the decision to exclude foreign investors would be reviewed after 30 days. This is a much shorter review time, as the waiver is usually signed every six months.

The senior State Department official said that during this time the US will also encourage international partners to hold Cuba accountable for “propping up” the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

There are some countries currently doing business in Cuba — such as Spain — that the US wants to see take a harder stance against Nicolás Maduro. Those countries could be impacted if the US ultimately decides to go after international entities doing business with Cuba.

The senior official said that is “hard to say” the exact number of lawsuits that would be brought as a result of the decision. </s> WASHINGTON — The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets in a dramatic escalation of tensions with Nicolás Maduro that places his socialist administration alongside a short list of adversaries from Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Iran that have been targeted by such aggressive U.S. actions.

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 apparent goal is to give the U.S. the ability to apply the law beyond its borders to allies of Maduro like China, Russia, Cuba, Iran and Turkey," said Russ Dallen, the Miami-based head of Caracas Capital Markets brokerage. "Should those foreign entities continue doing business with Maduro they can have their U.S. assets seized."

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.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton hinted earlier Monday that far-reaching U.S. action was close at hand. Speaking to reporters on the eve of an international conference in Peru to show support for Guaidó, he said that the U.S. was readying measures "that will show the determination that the United States has to get a peaceful transfer of power."

Russia, which has staunchly backed Maduro, denounced the U.S. action. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, said Tuesday the move amounts to "international banditry." He added in remarks carried by the state RIA Novosti news agency that it represents an "open meddling into Venezuela's internal affairs."

The measures are likely to exacerbate suffering in an already moribund economy marked by six-digit hyperinflation and a deep, multi-year contraction that surpasses that of the Great Depression in the U.S.

Previous sanctions targeting the South American nation's oil industry, the source of almost all of its export earnings, have already accelerated a crash in oil production that started with Maduro's election in 2013 following the death of his mentor Hugo Chavez.

More than 100 officials and government insiders also have had their U.S. assets frozen and blocked from doing business with Americans. As part of the executive order, Americans or U.S. companies that do business with such individuals face penalties. The same Maduro supporters will also be banned from entering the U.S.

Exceptions will be allowed for the delivery of food, medicine and clothing. Transactions with Venezuela's still sizable private sector do not appear to be affected either. It's unclear how the actions will affect American oil giant Chevron, which last month received a three-month exemption from the U.S. Treasury to allow it to continue drilling for oil with state-run oil monopoly PDVSA.

The Maduro government has yet to respond. But Guaidó celebrated the U.S. action, saying it would protect Houston-based oil company CITGO, Venezuela's most valuable overseas asset, from attempts by Maduro to mortgage its assets. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets Monday in a dramatic escalation of tensions with socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, who has stubbornly clung to power in the face of mounting international pressure.

The ban on Americans doing business with Venezuela's government takes effect immediately. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump justified the move by citing Maduro's continued "usurpation" of power and human rights abuses by groups loyal to him.

While the order falls short of an outright trade embargo, it represents the most determined U.S. action to remove Maduro since the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's rightful leader in January. As such, it places Venezuela on par with adversaries such as Cuba, Syria, Iran and North Korea, who have also come under strident U.S. measures.

Previous sanctions have targeted dozens of Venezuelan government insiders as well as the South American nation's oil industry, the source of almost all of its export earnings.

As part of the executive order, Americans will be banned from engaging in transactions with anyone determined to be assisting Maduro or his government. The same Maduro supporters will also be banned from entering the U.S.

Exceptions will be allowed for the delivery of food, medicine and clothing. Transactions with Venezuela's still sizable private sector do not appear to be affected either.

The executive order comes the day before Trump's national security adviser John Bolton and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross represent the United States at the International Conference for Democracy in Venezuela.

The conference is being attended by representatives from more than 50 nations that recognize Guaidó as Venezuela's president and consider Maduro's re-election last year to be fraudulent.

Moments after the executive order was announced, Bolton tweeted that he was looking ahead to what he hopes will be a "productive" day in Lima, Peru. </s> WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump imposed a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States on Monday, sharply escalating an economic and diplomatic pressure campaign aimed at removing socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power.

The executive order signed by Trump goes well beyond the sanctions imposed in recent months against Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA and the country’s financial sector, as well as measures against dozens of Venezuelan officials and entities.

President Donald Trump is taking more dramatic action after numerous rounds of sanctions failed to turn Venezuela’s military against President Nicolas Maduro, above, or make significant progress in dislodging him.

Trump’s action, the toughest yet against Maduro, not only bans U.S. companies from dealings with the Venezuela government but also appears to open the door to possible sanctions against foreign firms or individuals that assist it.

“All property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in the United States ... are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in,” according to the executive order released by the White House.

The scope of the announcement came as a surprise even to some Trump administration allies. “This is big,” said Ana Quintana, senior policy analyst with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.

Quintana said it appeared the order would be a sweeping embargo on doing business with Venezuela, although she was awaiting further details.

The United States and most Western nations have called for Maduro to step down and have recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate president.

Trump said on Thursday he was considering a quarantine or blockade of Venezuela, although he did not elaborate at the time on when or how such a blockade would be imposed.

U.S. officials have long said they had other weapons in their economic arsenal, even as they privately expressed frustration that European partners and others had not taken stronger steps and that the months-long pressure campaign had not made more headway.

Trump said in a letter to Congress the freezing of assets was necessary “in light of the continued usurpation of power by the illegitimate Nicolas Maduro regime, as well as the regime’s human rights abuses, arbitrary arrest and detention of Venezuelan citizens, curtailment of free press, and ongoing attempts to undermine Interim President Juan Guaido.”

His executive order also threatened sanctions against anyone assisting Maduro or his loyalists, suggesting that Washington could resort to so-called secondary sanctions against third-country companies and individuals.

Fernando Cutz, a former top Trump adviser on Latin America, said the executive order could be applied to non-U.S. firms and entities, limiting their ability to do business with Venezuela if they wanted to continue to deal with U.S. companies or banks.

China and Russia continue to trade oil with Venezuela. The move could escalate tensions with China, already inflamed by a tit-for-tat trade war, said Cutz, now a senior associate with the Cohen Group, a consulting firm.

China and Russia - together with Cuba - have continued to back Maduro, prompting U.S. national security adviser John Bolton to warn Beijing and Moscow on Monday against doubling down in their support for him.

Bolton is slated to give a speech on Tuesday morning at a gathering of more than 50 countries in Lima, Peru, that would outline a planned U.S. initiative to lead to a peaceful transfer of power in Venezuela.
The Trump administration announces it will allow lawsuits by U.S. citizens against dozens of Cuban companies and other entities concerning property confiscated by the Cuban government. A spokesperson says Cuba's support for Venezuela's incumbent president, Nicolás Maduro, was taken into consideration when the decision was made.