Washington DC [US], December 12 : Just a day after President Donald Trump stated that the US has seized a "very large" oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, the Department of the Treasury on Thursday (local time) imposed sanctions on three nephews of Venezuela's First Lady Cilia Flores and six shipping companies linked to the country's oil sector, targeting individuals and entities associated with President Nicolas Maduro as Washington continues its pressure campaign on the latin american counrty.
According to a press release by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the sanctions target Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas, widely known as the "narco-nephews", who were convicted in 2016 on drug trafficking charges in the US. Both had received presidential clemency in 2022 under the former US President Joe Biden's administration but have reportedly continued narcotics operations in Venezuela.
The third sanctioned nephew, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, a former official in Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA and former national treasurer, was redesignated on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List for his ties to the Maduro regime.
Also targeted is Ramon Carretero Napolitano, a Panamanian businessman engaged in petroleum shipments and business dealings with the Maduro-Flores family, and six shipping companies, along with their vessels operating in Venezuela's oil sector.
The companiesMyra Marine Limited, Arctic Voyager Incorporated, Poweroy Investment Limited, Ready Great Limited, Sino Marine Services Limited, and Full Happy Limitedwere cited for deceptive shipping practices and transporting Venezuelan oil to Asia. Their vessels, including the WHITE CRANE, KIARA M, H. CONSTANCE, LATTAFA, TAMIA, and MONIQUE, are now blocked under US sanctions, the release stated.
The department noted that the sanctions block all property and interests in property of the designated individuals and entities within US jurisdiction, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions involving these blocked parties, and violations may result in civil or criminal penalties.
"As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked person described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked," the release read.
"Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons. Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis," it added.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated that sanctions were in response to Maduro's "dictatorial and brutal control" over Venezuela.
"Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people," Bessent said.
"These sanctions undo the Biden Administration's failed attempt to make a deal with Maduro, enabling his dictatorial and brutal control at the expense of the Venezuelan and American people. Under President Trump's leadership, Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes," he added.
The US action comes a day after President Trump stated that Washington had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, "As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela. A large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually."
Later, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed the seizure of the tanker, noting that the ship was transporting "sanctioned oil" from Venezuela and Iran.
"Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securelyand our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues," Bondi said in a post on X, sharing unclassified visuals of the seizure.
According to CNN, citing a senior US official, the seizure took place in international waters and was carried out without any incidents or injuries to either US personnel or the tanker's crew.
The vessel, which had been en route to Cuba, was ultimately intended for Asia after being brokered through Cuban intermediaries, the official added.
The US indicated that further seizures could occur in the coming weeks as pressure on the Maduro regime continues.
The tanker, named Skipper and previously known as Adisa, was transporting Venezuelan crude. It had been sanctioned by the US in 2022 for facilitating oil trades on behalf of Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, as reported by CNN.
Following the seizure, the Venezuelan government condemned it, describing it as an "act of international piracy" in a statement released Wednesday.
The operation is part of a broader US campaign to pressure Venezuela, which has involved deploying thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, targeting suspected drug vessels, and issuing repeated warnings to President Maduro, CNN reported.
According to US reports, these operations have resulted in 87 fatalities and the destruction of 23 alleged drug boats.
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