BRASÍLIA—U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross laid out a plan including credit and investment to help rebuild Venezuela’s economy under democratic rule, as Washington pushes for new leadership in the struggling nation.

The American plan is contingent on the removal of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, President Nicolás Maduro, and his replacement with Juan Guaidó, leader of a fractious opposition supported by the U.S. and other countries.

... </s> A senior administration official says National Security Adviser John Bolton and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will lead a U.S. delegation at an initial conference held by countries which recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela.

The official said Bolton will talk about the next steps for U.S. policy, while Ross will share a plan focused on reconstruction in the South American country if President Nicolás Maduro is no longer in power.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Aug. 6 meeting in Peru will include representatives from over 50 nations which hold that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent. Russia, Cuba and Turkey have declined an invitation to attend. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets Monday in a dramatic escalation of tensions with socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, who has stubbornly clung to power in the face of mounting international pressure.

The ban on Americans doing business with Venezuela's government takes effect immediately. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump justified the move by citing Maduro's continued "usurpation" of power and human rights abuses by groups loyal to him.

While the order falls short of an outright trade embargo, it represents the most determined U.S. action to remove Maduro since the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's rightful leader in January. As such, it places Venezuela on par with adversaries such as Cuba, Syria, Iran and North Korea, who have also come under strident U.S. measures.

Previous sanctions have targeted dozens of Venezuelan government insiders as well as the South American nation's oil industry, the source of almost all of its export earnings.

As part of the executive order, Americans will be banned from engaging in transactions with anyone determined to be assisting Maduro or his government. The same Maduro supporters will also be banned from entering the U.S.

Exceptions will be allowed for the delivery of food, medicine and clothing. Transactions with Venezuela's still sizable private sector do not appear to be affected either.

The executive order comes the day before Trump's national security adviser John Bolton and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross represent the United States at the International Conference for Democracy in Venezuela.

The conference is being attended by representatives from more than 50 nations that recognize Guaidó as Venezuela's president and consider Maduro's re-election last year to be fraudulent.

Moments after the executive order was announced, Bolton tweeted that he was looking ahead to what he hopes will be a "productive" day in Lima, Peru. </s> OSLO: The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition are continuing talks in Barbados to try to find ways to resolve the Latin American country's political crisis, the Foreign Ministry of mediator Norway said on Friday (Aug 2).

Friday's statement, the first in three weeks, came a day after US President Donald Trump said he was considering a quarantine or blockade of Venezuela and ahead of a summit in Peru on the Venezuelan crisis, which US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend.

"Τhe representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela are continuing the negotiations. ... Τhe parties have reiterated their willingness to advance in the search for an agreed-upon and constitutional solution," Norway's Foreign Ministry said.

The opposition's main negotiator, Stalin Gonzalez, thanked the government of Norway in a tweet shortly after the ministry's statement, ratifying his party's proposal for a constitutional solution.

Juan Guaido, leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, invoked the constitution in January to assume a rival interim presidency after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Maduro calls Guaido a puppet of the United States and blames Venezuela's severe economic problems on US sanctions meant to force him from office. </s> BRASILIA (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the United States is ready to support pro-market reforms and privatizations in Venezuela with credit and investment.

Ross, speaking at a conference on the reconstruction of Venezuela, said there will be an immediate need for a capital infusion to undo socialism in Venezuela once the internationally recognized government of opposition leader Juan Guaido takes over.

But in the long term, Venezuela has 300 billion barrels of oil, gold and other mineral resources to rebuild its economy, he told a conference of infrastructure company executives. </s> WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA on Monday in the latest effort to ramp up pressure on the country's President Nicolas Maduro.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions prevented Maduro from diverting more resources from the crisis-damaged country until control in Caracas could be transferred to an interim government or new democratically-elected government.

However, Mnuchin said PDVSA's US-based subsidiary Citgo would be able to continue operations, as long as its earnings were deposited into a blocked account in the United States.

Washington "is holding accountable those responsible for Venezuela's tragic decline," Mnuchin announced at the White House.

"We call on our allies and partners to join the United States in recognizing interim president Guaido and blocking Maduro from being able to access funds."

Citgo "will be able to continue to operate provided that any funds that would otherwise go to the oil company instead will go into a blocked account in the United States."

The latest sanctions on PDVSA, which has been a "vehicle for corruption...will help prevent further diverting of Venezuela's assets by Maduro and preserve these assets for the people of Venezuela," Mnuchin said.

"The path to sanctions relief for PDVSA is through the expeditious transfer of control to the interim president or a subsequent, democratically elected government."

The United States will issue temporary licenses to ensure US, Caribbean and European refineries that rely on Venezuelan crude can keep buying PDVSA oil but he said many had been taking steps to find other sources.

Speaking together with Justice Department officials announcing the indictments, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said they were "wholly separate from our trade negotiations with China."

However, he added: "Commerce will continue to work with our interagency partners to protect US national security interests." </s> OSLO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition are continuing talks in Barbados to try to find ways to resolve the Latin American country's political crisis, the Foreign Ministry of mediator Norway said on Friday.

Friday's statement, the first in three weeks, came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering a quarantine or blockade of Venezuela and ahead of a summit in Peru on the Venezuelan crisis, which U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend.

"he representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela are continuing the negotiations. ... he parties have reiterated their willingness to advance in the search for an agreed-upon and constitutional solution," Norway's Foreign Ministry said.

The opposition's main negotiator, Stalin Gonzalez, thanked the government of Norway in a tweet shortly after the ministry's statement, ratifying his party's proposal for a constitutional solution.

Juan Guaido, leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, invoked the constitution in January to assume a rival interim presidency after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Maduro calls Guaido a puppet of the United States and blames Venezuela's severe economic problems on U.S. sanctions meant to force him from office. (Reporting by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos Additional reporting by Sarah Kinosian Editing by Leslie Adler) </s> WASHINGTON/LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend a summit in Peru to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela on Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Ross is visiting Brazil and Argentina this week and two sources in Peru’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that he will be joined at the conference in Peru by U.S. national security adviser John Bolton. The sources asked not to be named.

Peru invited some 100 foreign ministers to the summit and had hoped to include Russia, Cuba, China, Bolivia and Turkey - all allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The idea was to foster dialogue between supporters of Maduro and his critics, and build support for early elections, Peru’s foreign minister said when he announced the summit last month.

But Russia and Cuba turned down their invitations, the sources said, while China and Bolivia have not confirmed whether they will attend.

Washington considers Maduro a dictator who stole last year’s election. Along with Peru and most Latin American countries, Washington has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Maduro has refused to step down and has called the United States an imperialist power that wants to control Venezuela’s oil.

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Moreno, and the European Union’s representative on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, have confirmed they will attend Tuesday’s meeting, the sources said.

Ross’s visit to Peru could coincide with final decisions on licenses requests by U.S. companies seeking to sell to China’s telecoms giant Huawei, which was placed on a blacklist in May.

Ross said during a visit to Brazil this week that responses could come as soon as next week. </s> WASHINGTON/LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend a summit in Peru to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela on Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Ross is visiting Brazil and Argentina this week and two sources in Peru’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that he will be joined at the conference in Peru by U.S. national security adviser John Bolton. The sources asked not to be named.

Peru invited some 100 foreign ministers to the summit and had hoped to include Russia, Cuba, China, Bolivia and Turkey - all allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The idea was to foster dialogue between supporters of Maduro and his critics, and build support for early elections, Peru’s foreign minister said when he announced the summit last month.

But Russia and Cuba turned down their invitations, the sources said, while China and Bolivia have not confirmed whether they will attend.

Washington considers Maduro a dictator who stole last year’s election. Along with Peru and most Latin American countries, Washington has recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Maduro has refused to step down and has called the United States an imperialist power that wants to control Venezuela’s oil.

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Moreno, and the European Union’s representative on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, have confirmed they will attend Tuesday’s meeting, the sources said.

Ross’s visit to Peru could coincide with final decisions on licenses requests by U.S. companies seeking to sell to China’s telecoms giant Huawei, which was placed on a blacklist in May.

Ross said during a visit to Brazil this week that responses could come as soon as next week.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says that the United States has "a blueprint" to recover Venezuela's economy if Nicolás Maduro leaves office as the nation's disputed President.