U.S. Places New Sanctions on Venezuela Day After Election

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration placed new sanctions on Venezuela on Monday, seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from selling off government debt to enrich himself the day after he claimed victory in what the U.S. government called a “sham” election in his crisis-ridden country.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing the new penalties, which would bar U.S. companies or citizens from buying debt or accounts receivable from the Venezuelan government, including Petróleos de Venezuela, the government-owned oil company that is the parent of Citgo Petroleum Corp.

The measures were devised to close off an “avenue for corruption” that senior administration officials said they had observed Maduro and members of his government using to enrich themselves. The officials, who described the sanctions on the condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to be named discussing them, declined to reveal any specific instances.

The action comes as Venezuela reels from an economic collapse that has caused a humanitarian crisis, as citizens flee a country suffering from food shortages, soaring prices, a broken-down health system and a rash of crime.

On Monday, Vice President Mike Pence condemned Sunday’s balloting in Venezuela in which Maduro won a second term, denouncing the government as a dictatorship and demanding that it allow humanitarian aid into the country.

“The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela,” Pence said in a statement, adding, “The United States will not sit idly by as Venezuela crumbles and the misery of their brave people continues.”

One senior administration official said Maduro, afraid to risk real competition in the contest, had choreographed the election process to his advantage, stacking the courts and National Electoral Council with his cronies, banning opposition leaders and parties, cracking down on media that was not sympathetic to him, and selectively parceling out food and money on Election Day to manipulate hungry Venezuelans into voting for him. The official said Maduro had set up tents just feet away from polling locations where voters had to scan “fatherland cards” to show they voted in exchange for cash or food.

The sanctions imposed Monday, the third round that Trump’s administration has placed on Venezuela, are intended to stop Maduro and his government from using a strategy they have pursued to raise cash as their ability to siphon money from the strapped economy weakens.

The government has been selling off debt held by government entities, including accounts receivable, for a pittance of what it is worth, the officials said, pocketing the cash and leaving Venezuela’s finances in shambles.

The sanctions fall short of direct penalties on the oil sector, which the Trump administration has said would harm the Venezuelan people and U.S. companies. They do not bar U.S. companies or citizens from selling oil products to or importing them from Venezuela.

Last August, when Trump imposed his first financial sanctions on Venezuela, his administration provided an exemption for financing of petroleum imports and exports and an explicit carve-out for Citgo.

At the time, the White House said Citgo’s exemption was a bid “to mitigate harm to the American and Venezuelan people.”