WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration is trying to make it harder for Nicolas Maduro to send oil to Cuba.
The Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions against two shipping companies and one vessel for transporting oil between Venezuela and Cuba, as the United States has declared that Venezuela's oil resources belong to Juan Guaido's interim government and not Maduro.
An additional 34 vessels owned by PDVSA, Venezuela's state-run oil company, were also identified as blocked property by the Treasury Department. The U.S. government and lawmakers have said that Venezuela sends oil to Cuba in exchange for security and intelligence services, using a lucrative natural resource to help Maduro maintain power instead of helping to alleviate Venezuela's humanitarian crisis.
