US Sanctions Nicaragua's Albanisa, Joint Venture With Venezuela's PDVSA - Bolton

18:53 GMT, 30 January 2019

On Monday, the US imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA as part of an effort to transfer power away from President Nicolas Maduro to country's opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Sputnik

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that the US was sanctioning Nicaragua's Albanisa petroleum company, a joint venture with Venezuela's PDVSA oil company.

Commenting on the sanctions, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza said Tuesday that US sanctions against PDVSA proved that the real purpose of the coup attempt in Venezuela was oil.

Lima Group Seeks Contact With Russia, China on Venezuela Crisis – Guaido’s Envoy

30 January 2019, 17:19 GMT

After imposing sanctions, the US State Department announced that it had certified the authority of Venezuelan opposition figure Guaido to control some assets held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or any other US-insured banks.

On 23 January, the speaker of the opposition-led Venezuelan National Assembly, Guaido, declared himself interim head of state amid ongoing anti-government protests. The United States and a number of other countries, which disputed last year’s re-election of President Nicholas Maduro, have recognized the opposition leader. Maduro slammed Guaido as a US "puppet" and accused Washington of organizing a coup in the country.