The United States has sanctioned Cuba's Corporacion Panamericana over its activity in Venezuela's oil sector, the US Department of the Treasury said on Tuesday.
"Today, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Cuban company Corporacion Panamericana S.A. pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13850 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted for or on behalf of, Cubametales, an entity designated on July 3, 2019, for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy," the release said.
This comes amid ongoing US pressure on Cuba over its support for Venezuela and its President Nicolas Maduro.
The Treasury Department pointed out that after it imposed sanctions on the Cuban state-run oil import and export company Cubametales in July, that organization used Corporacion Panamericana as an intermediary to continue operations and circumvent sanctions.
Corporacion Panamericana replaced Cubametales in various energy deals and international commercial dealings with several countries, the release said.
Treasury Department sanctions generally prohibit all transactions by US persons or within the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons.
Earlier this month, the US administration imposed travel sanctions on the Cuban Interior Minister Julio Cesar Gandarilla Bermejo, citing his alleged involvement in human rights violations in Venezuela.
In September, Washington imposed similar travel sanctions on Cuban Communist Party chief Raul Castro, Cuban’s former president and younger brother of the late Fidel Castro, over his support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
