CARACAS – Venezuelans braced for the deepening of a brutal economic crisis on Tuesday after the United States imposed sanctions sharply curbing the country’s vital oil exports, while the socialist government responded by refusing to load crude cargoes without payment.
The Trump administration hopes the sanctions, which bar state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela from collecting proceeds from crude sales to US refineries, pressure President Nicolas Maduro to step down and allow opposition leader and self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido to call elections.
In a defiant national broadcast on Monday night, Maduro said he would take legal action to challenge the sanctions and defend Citgo Petroleum Corp, PDVSA’s US refining subsidiary, which he accused the United States of trying to steal. He also pledged to retaliate, but did not announce any specific measures.
“We will provide the reciprocal and convincing response needed to defend Venezuela’s interests in due time,” Maduro said.
The loss of revenue from the United States, the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude, was sure to further hamper the government’s ability to import basic goods like food and medicine, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis that has prompted more than 3 million people to flee the hyperinflation-stricken country in recent years. (Reuters)
