Washington — US President Donald Trump imposed a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the US 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.

Trump’s action, the toughest yet against Maduro, not only bans US 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.

Russian and Chinese companies are among those still doing significant business in the South American Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) nation.

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 are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in”, according to the executive order released by the White House.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

Venezuela’s information ministry did not respond immediately to a request to comment.

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

Guaido, accused by Maduro of mounting a US-directed coup attempt, appointed a board for Citgo Petroleum, Venezuela’s most important foreign asset, earlier in 2019. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has frozen all Venezuelan government assets in a significant escalation of tensions with socialist leader Nicolás Maduro.

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

The order falls short of an outright trade embargo but represents the most crippling U.S. efforts to remove Maduro since the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's rightful leader in January.

Previous sanctions have targeted Venezuela's oil industry, the source of most of the country's export revenue. </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 — U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on assets of the Venezuelan government, according to an executive order published on Monday.

“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,” the executive order says. (Reporting by Makini Brice and Eric Beech) </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. </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> Trump signs executive order freezing Venezuela gov't assets in significant escalation of tensions with Maduro

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump signs executive order freezing Venezuela gov't assets in significant escalation of tensions with Maduro. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on assets of the Venezuelan government, according to an executive order published on Monday.

“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,” the executive order says.

The Trump Administration has been ramping up pressure on Caracas in a bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro from power.

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

But China and Russia have continued to back Maduro, prompting U.S. national security adviser John Bolton to warn the two countries on Monday against doubling down in their support for him. </s> LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday said Washington was ready to impose sanctions on any international company doing business with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a sharp escalation of U.S. pressure on the leftist leader.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro takes part in a meeting with members of the government at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela July 25, 2019. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

Bolton, addressing a summit on Venezuela in the Peruvian capital Lima, emphasized that tougher international action was needed to speed up a transition of power in the country, where more than four million Venezuelans have fled economic collapse.

“We are sending a signal to third parties that want to do business with the Maduro regime: proceed with extreme caution,” Bolton said.

His speech came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that freezes the assets of the Venezuelan government and bans any transactions with it, an act that could ensnare its dealings with Russia and China as well as with Western companies.

Bolton, one of the Trump administration’s most influential hawks on Venezuela, told reporters the move forces companies around the world to choose whether to risk access to the United States and its financial system for business with Maduro.

Asked by a reporter how Venezuela would respond to the executive order, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said: “I’m going to paraphrase Donald Trump ... All options are on the table.”

Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council on Tuesday to intervene.

“This is an act of war by the United States,” Moncada told reporters. “Venezuela is not a threat to anyone and the United States is fabricating this aggression just to take the oil.”

The 15-member U.N. Security Council will be unable to take any action as the United States is one of the body’s five veto powers, along with Russia, China, Britain and France.

It was the first U.S. asset freeze against an entire government in the Western Hemisphere in more than 30 years. But it was also a reminder that successive rounds of U.S. sanctions have so far failed to peel away the crucial support of Venezuela’s military for Maduro, who took office in 2013 following the death of his political mentor President Hugo Chavez.

Continuing the state controls started under Chavez, Maduro has overseen one of the worst economic collapses in recent world history, leaving his nation of 30 million people with severe shortages of food and medicine despite sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves.

In private, Bolton had told Peruvian officials the measure would have the effect of about tripling current sanctions related to Venezuela, a Peruvian government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The executive order stopped short, however, of a full U.S. trade embargo of the kind imposed on Cuba, experts said, by excluding Venezuela’s still sizeable private sector.

The order maintains some exemptions for companies that do business with state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL], and licenses published on Tuesday reiterated that companies like Chevron and Halliburton can continue to do business with PDVSA in Venezuela through Oct. 25.

Some experts said the move could lead to pushback from other countries, and would require a lot of time and money to prove foreign companies are undermining sanctions.

“How much is the U.S. government willing to spend in diplomatic capital in economic costs in the United States, in order to further its Venezuela policy? said David Murray of the Washington-based firm Financial Integrity Network, an expert on sanctions compliance.

RUSSIA: ‘ECONOMIC TERROR’

Most Western and Latin American democracies accuse Maduro of rigging elections last year and are calling for him to step down so the country can hold a fresh presidential ballot.

The summit, organized by Peru, a regional leader on demanding democratic reforms in Venezuela, had aimed to build support for new elections with Maduro’s allies. Yet Russia, China, Cuba, Turkey, Bolivia and Iran all boycotted the summit.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Washington’s asset freeze was illegal and amounted to “economic terror”, the RIA news agency reported.

The order also could inflame the U.S.-China trade war if it hits Beijing hard, with Venezuela owing China oil deliveries as repayment for loans through 2021, said Fernando Cutz, a former top aide to Trump on the National Security Council.

Bolton warned Russia against doubling down on its support for Caracas, and urged China to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader if it wanted to recoup debt owed by Caracas, since a new government in Venezuela might not want to honor agreements made with countries that helped Maduro hang onto power.

Bolton said Washington had taken steps to ensure the sanctions did not hurt Guaido and his allies, nor prevent access to humanitarian goods.

Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also spoke to the Lima summit, promising U.S. support and cooperation to help Venezuela rebuild its oil sector, institutions and economy once Maduro leaves office, without giving details.

The plan has a goal of reversing Venezuela’s decline in oil production within a year, and calls for a long-term deal with the International Monetary Fund, Ross said.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order freezing all assets and interests of the Venezuelan government as contained within the United States, a severe escalation from recent industry sanctions and verbal rhetoric. Twenty-one exceptions are issued, for companies providing services including oil, aid, and telecommunications. The expanded sanctions are widely criticized as likely to worsen the conditions for people in Venezuela.