Washington (AFP)
Washington sanctioned the captains of the five Iranian oil tankers that supplied Venezuela on Wednesday, while the United States is mounting pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
"Seafarers who trade with Iran and Venezuela will face the consequences for the United States," said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
"The assets of these captains will be frozen. Their careers and (professional) prospects will suffer," he added, announcing their placement on the black list of the US Treasury.
Five tankers sent by Iran to Venezuela, where fuel shortages have worsened with the coronavirus pandemic, have shipped some 1.5 million barrels of fuel there.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza replied on Twitter that the reprisals were "evidence of hatred of (Donald) Trump's hawks against Venezuela".
Washington, which calls socialist President Nicolas Maduro a "dictator" and wants it to go down, has imposed sanctions on crude oil exports from Venezuela and Iran, as well as many government and military officials from both country.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world but its production is in free fall. Caracas believes that American sanctions are responsible for this collapse. Experts attribute it to wrong political choices, lack of investment and corruption.
Iran has repeatedly expressed support for Maduro, who is also supported by Russia, China, Turkey and Cuba. The close relations between Caracas and Tehran date from the time of President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), mentor and predecessor of Nicolas Maduro.
© 2020 AFP