Trying to get out of their self-made economic disaster, Venezuela introduced an oil-backed cryptocurrency of Caracas’s own design, the “Petro”. However, on Monday, the Trump Administration announced new sanctions on the Socialist Dictatorship of Venezuela.
On Monday, President Trump authorized Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to do all in his power to destroy the “Petro”. Although Venezuela says that their currency is backed by the valuable oil reserves in the country, it will not find much trade, since the US government has now promised to punish all in international markets who use, or accept the “Petro.”
Dictator of Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro, hoped that the new cryptocurrency would help his nation escape existing US sanctions that were placed on his regime, after protests against corruption were brutally put down last year.
“President Maduro decimated the Venezuelan economy and spurred a humanitarian crisis,” Mnuchin raged, in a statement. “Instead of correcting course to avoid further catastrophe, the Maduro regime is attempting to circumvent sanctions through the Petro digital policy—a ploy that Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly has denounced, and Treasury has cautioned U.S. persons to avoid.”
The sanctions also target specific officials within the Venezuelan government;
William Antonio Contreras, the head of the agency responsible for imposing government price controls;
Americo Alex Mata Garcia, an alternate director on the board of directors of the National Bank of Housing and Habitat;
Nelson Reinaldo Lepaje Salazar, the head of the National Treasury;
Carlos Alberto Rotondaro Cova, the former president of the board of directors for the government agency tasked with providing patients with drugs for chronic conditions.
Mnuchin met with the other finance ministers in the G20 conference that was held in Buenos Aires on Monday and discussed the deepening humanitarian and econoimc crisis in Venezuela.
“We urge Maduro to distribute humanitarian aid and stop blocking much-needed foreign assistance to the suffering people of Venezuela, and we again call upon the Venezuelan military to respect and uphold the Constitution”
As crushing as these sanctions are, if Venezuela doesn’t cooperate, “We are considering all options, including oil-sector sanction options,” the official said. “[Oil sanctions] is a fairly strong step forward and would have ramifications not just for the government in Caracas, but also the people of Venezuela, the stability and economy of the Caribbean and most importantly, the U.S. economy.”
