Venezuela Program One of Treasury's 'Most Active' Sanctions Regimes, Treasury Official Says

The U.S. will continue sanctioning Venezuela's mining sector and will increase efforts to target countries and foreign groups that support the Nicolas Maduro regime, a top Treasury Department official said.

Venezuela is one of Treasury’s “most active sanctions programs,” drawing heightened attention from President Donald Trump and necessitating a sanctions regime that has targeted more than 200 people and entities since 2017, said Paul Ahern, Treasury’s principal deputy assistant secretary. Ahern pointed to an August executive order that blocked Venezuelan government property. “That is not a common thing that we do,” Ahern said during a Nov. 19 Center for Strategic and International Studies event. “We reserve that particular sanction for the most odious national security threats.”

As part of its program, Treasury plans to further target Venezuela's mining and gold sector, which Maduro uses as a revenue source, Ahern said. The agency sanctioned the country’s state-run mining company in March. Ahern also pointed to Treasury’s September designation of Alex Saab as a pivotal action, calling Saab a “key frontman for the regime.” Saab has taken advantage of humanitarian aid to allow “Maduro and his regime to significantly profit from food imports and distribution in Venezuela.”

Ahern said Venezuela has partnered with Russia, Cuba and Hezbollah for relief from U.S. sanctions, adding that Treasury will target anyone doing business with Maduro. “The U.S. government will continue to use … economic and diplomatic tools against those who support Maduro and his cronies, harm the lives of innocent Venezuelans through corruption and support individual and entities who have already been sanctioned,” Ahern said.