Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra (left) alongside his father and First Lady Cilia Flores

The United States has announced new sanctions against the son of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, 29, known as Nicolasito, is a member of the pro-government Constituent Assembly.

Juan Guaidó, who is seen by the US as the country's legitimate leader, heads up a rival parliament that has been side-lined by the government.

The sanctions will freeze any US assets Nicolasito has and bars US firms and individuals from working with him.

Announcing the move on Friday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said they were punishing him for serving his father's "illegitimate regime".

"Maduro's regime was built on fraudulent elections, and his inner circle lives in luxury off the proceeds of corruption while the Venezuelan people suffer," Mr Mnuchin said in a statement.

"Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela."

The statement also accused the president's son of engaging in propaganda and censorship on behalf of the government.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Juan Guaidó on how the political crisis may develop

He joins dozens of other Venezuelans already under economic sanctions.

The US has been ramping up pressure since it recognised Juan Guaidó as the country's legitimate leader.

Since he declared himself interim president in January, Mr Guaidó has won the backing of more than 50 countries, but has struggled to take power.

Mr Maduro has largely retained the support of his military and key allies including Russia and China.

Earlier this week, the Venezuelan government claimed it had foiled an international-backed "fascist" plot to assassinate Mr Maduro - a claim Mr Guaidó dismissed.

Venezuela has been in severe economic crisis for several years - struggling with hyperinflation, high unemployment and chronic shortages of food and medicine.

Some four million people have fled the country since 2015, according to the UN. </s> The United States has introduced sanctions against the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the US Department of the Treasury announced on its website on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2019) The United States has introduced sanctions against the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the US Department of the Treasury announced on its website on Friday.

"MADURO GUERRA, Nicolas Ernesto (Latin: MADURO GUERRA, Nicolás Ernesto), Caracas, Capital District, Venezuela; DOB 21 Jun 1990; Gender Male; Cedula No. 19398759 (Venezuela) (individual) [VENEZUELA]," the Treasury Department said. </s> WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday (Jun 28) imposed sanctions on the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for serving in his father's "illegitimate regime."

"Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in announcing the action.

"Treasury will continue to target complicit relatives of illegitimate regime insiders profiting off of Maduro?s corruption," he said.

The action freezes any assets Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra has in the United States and bars American individuals or institutions from doing business with him.

The latest US action comes as Maduro moves to consolidate his hold on power after a failed coup attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, is recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela's acting president.

In targeting Maduro's son, the Treasury noted that he was a member of the pro-government Constituent Assembly, which Maduro has used to sideline the National Assembly.

It also said that Maduro Guerra "has profited from Venezuelan mines along with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores," and engaged in propaganda and censorship efforts on behalf of his father's government. </s> The United States (US) has announced new sanctions against the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, 29, also known as Nicolasito, is a member of the pro-government Constituent Assembly.

Juan Guaido, who has been recognised by the US as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, heads up a rival parliament that has been side-lined by the Maduro government.

The sanctions will freeze any US assets Nicolasito has and bars American companies and individuals from doing business with him.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who announced the sanctions yesterday, made it clear that Nicolasito is being punished for serving his father's "illegitimate regime".

"Maduro's regime was built on fraudulent elections, and his inner circle lives in luxury off the proceeds of corruption while the Venezuelan people suffer," Mnuchin said in a statement.

"Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela", he added.

The statement also accused the president's son of engaging in propaganda and censorship on behalf of the government.

Nicolasito joins dozens of Venezuelans already under economic sanctions.

The US has ramped up pressure on the Maduro administration since it recognised Guaido as the country's legitimate leader.

Since declaring himself interim president in January, Guaido has won the backing of more than 50 countries.

He has, however, struggled to wrest power from Maduro.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com. </s> The Trump administration is slapping economic sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's son in its latest effort to unseat the South American country's socialist regime.

Nicolás Maduro Guerra heads the Corps of the Special Inspectors of the Presidency and is a member of the pro-government National Constituent Assembly.

A senior administration official told reporters Friday that the sanctions against Maduro Guerra are part of ongoing efforts to root out examples of corruption throughout the Caracas government. The officials said the administration will target those institutions and clamp down on their "corrupt finances."

"The point that we're trying to make is that Maduro's corruption is so endemic throughout the entire region and all of the institutions in Venezuela, largely with the exception of the National Assembly, that we are going to broadly, as we can find all examples of corruption and choking some of those corrupt finances."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Maduro relies on his son, "Nicolasito" and others "to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela." He noted the National Constituent Assembly's efforts to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution and dissolve state institutions

"Maduro's regime was built on fraudulent elections, and his inner circle lives in luxury off the proceeds of corruption while the Venezuelan people suffer," Mnuchin said.

President Donald Trump raised the crisis in Venezuela in a bilateral meeting with the president of Brazil during the G20 economic conference in Osaka, Japan. The senior administration officials said Trump has a broad agenda, but expects Trump will discuss Venezuela with most – if not all – of the world leaders.

"That is because the president has not lost focus on Venezuela," the official said. "This is still a major priority for this president and this is something that the president wants to see resolved in the short term because the people of Venezuela are suffering every day."

The Trump administration has already imposed sanctions on more than 150 Maduro officials and members of his inner circle, including Venezuela's first lady, Cilia Flores. The administration has also taken action against the state-owned oil company, PDVSA, and mining company, MINERVIN.

Venezuela's former intelligence chief, Cristopher Figuera, who fled the country after backing a failed uprising against President Nicolas Maduro, accused Maduro Guerra earlier this month of running an illicit scheme involving the sale of gold to Venezuelan's central Bank.

"I quickly realized that Maduro is the head of a criminal enterprise, with his own family involved," Figuera told the Washington Post.

Two years ago, Maduro Guerra threatened to "take the White House" if Trump followed through with threats of using military force in Venezuela.

"If the U.S. soils the homeland, the rifles would come to New York and take the White House," Maduro Guerra said according to reports in Venezuelan media.

Venezuela has been stuck in political limbo since Juan Guaidó, the head of democratically-elected National Assembly, announced in January that it was his constitutional duty to assume the presidency.

More than 50 countries, including the United States, most of Latin America and a large part of Europe, have since recognized Guaidó as president.

Despite being home to some of the world's largest oil reserves, Venezuelan has fallen into a life-threatening economic and humanitarian crises that has caused more than four million Venezuelans to flee in search of food, medicine and shelter.

Under the Treasury's order, Maduro Guerra's assets in the United States will be frozen, and U.S. banks and institutions are barred from doing business with him. The Treasury department said the administration will consider lifting sanctions for those who "take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order." </s> The United States Department of Treasury slapped sanctions against the son of the disputed Venezuelan president after it accused him of carrying out numerous crimes to bolster his father's interests.

In serving the sanction, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has blocked any property or entities owned in the U.S. by Nicolas Maduro's son, Nicolas “Nicolasito” Ernesto Maduro Guerra (Maduro Guerra), and added that any known assets owned "directly or indirectly" by him should be reported to them.

“Maduro’s regime was built on fraudulent elections, and his inner circle lives in luxury off the proceeds of corruption while the Venezuelan people suffer,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela."

The department has accused Maduro Guerra of engaging in propaganda and censorship efforts, pressuring the Venezuelan National Armed Forces to deny humanitarian aid, and leading the National Constituent Assembly, which the feds say sought to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution and dissolve the country's state institutions.

Maduro became the 46th President of Venezuela beginning in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez. Despite the country's descent into chaos, Maduro was sworn in for a second term in January of this year in a decision widely condemned by world powers, including the United States, Canada and Brazil. Juan Guaido, who led the opposition of Maduro, has since been recognized by those countries and several others as the rightful leader of Venezuela, while Maduro's regime continues to interfere politically and socially in the region.

Consistent blackouts, lack of food and water and major medical shortages have defined the last few months in Venezuela, and Maduro's military has attempted to block humanitarian aid from other countries as thousands have fled the nation. Maduro has previously accused the United States of leading a "coup d'etat" to undermine his authority and take control of Venezuela's oil reserves.

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On Thursday, the OFAC also sanctioned two more Maduro officials who they say "continue to engage in significant corruption and fraud to the detriment of the people of Venezuela." Those individuals are: Luis Alfredo Motta Dominguez, the former minister of Electric Power and president of the National Electric Corporation, and Eustiquio Jose Lugo Gomez, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Investments, and Strategic Alliances for the Ministry of Electric Power.

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“The people of Venezuela entrusted their public officials to provide fundamental civic services, like water and electricity," Mnuchin said of the additional sanctions. "The illegitimate Maduro regime exploits the public trust by plundering Venezuelan assets, enriching themselves, and watching idly as basic public systems needlessly and catastrophically fail.” </s> The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for serving in his father’s “illegitimate regime.”

The action freezes any assets Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra has in the United States and bars American individuals or institutions from doing business with the 29-year-old.

“Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in announcing the action.

“Treasury will continue to target complicit relatives of illegitimate regime insiders profiting off of Maduro’s corruption.”

The latest US action comes as Maduro moves to consolidate his hold on power after what Caracas called a failed coup attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, is recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela’s acting president.

In targeting Maduro’s son, the Treasury noted that he was a member of the pro-government Constituent Assembly, which Maduro has used to sideline the National Assembly.

The US statement slammed the Constituent Assembly as having been “created through an undemocratic process instigated by Maduro’s government to subvert the will of the Venezuelan people.”

It also said Maduro Guerra “has profited from Venezuelan mines along with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores,” and engaged in propaganda and censorship efforts on behalf of his father’s government.

The US had previously sanctioned the Venezuelan president and eight members of the Constituent Assembly, as part of a wide-ranging effort that has also targeted the government’s oil revenues and access to international financial markets.

The new sanctions came in a week of simmering tensions.

On Thursday, the US government announced indictments of two Venezuelans on money laundering charges, including Maduro’s former electric power minister and another top ministry official.

The country’s electrical grid was hit with major, days-long outages in March, another sign of crumbling infrastructure and services that have contributed to a mass migration of Venezuelans.

On Wednesday, the Venezuelan government said it foiled a plot to assassinate Maduro, who accused the United States, Colombia and Chile of complicity.

At least six of the alleged plotters were arrested, Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said.

Maduro has claimed to have been a target of assassination plots before, including an apparent attempt to blow up a drone near him at a military parade in August 2018.

His former intelligence chief, Christopher Figuera, arrived in Washington this week after fleeing Venezuela in May following Guaido’s failed attempt to spark a military uprising on April 30.

Figuera told the Washington Post he had plotted with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Supreme Court chief Maikel Moreno to oust Maduro during the uprising, but they got cold feet.

Ivan Simonovis, a former Venezuelan national police chief who fled house arrest in Caracas where he was being held on murder charges, surfaced in Washington this week to talk to US lawmakers about “criminal activities” of the Maduro government. He backed up many of Figuera’s allegations.

Simonovis told AFP in an interview in Miami that Maduro senior has the choice of leaving or being overthrown. Asked if there is, in fact, a drive afoot to remove Maduro, Simonovis demurred.

“At this point, there are very high level political decisions. I am simply part of the ‘how’ in that decision, not the ‘whether.'” </s> The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for serving in his father's "illegitimate regime."

The action freezes any assets Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra has in the United States and bars American individuals or institutions from doing business with the 29-year-old.

"Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in announcing the action.

"Treasury will continue to target complicit relatives of illegitimate regime insiders profiting off of Maduro's corruption."

The latest US action comes as Maduro moves to consolidate his hold on power after what Caracas called a failed coup attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, is recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela's acting president.

In targeting Maduro's son, the Treasury noted that he was a member of the pro-government Constituent Assembly, which Maduro has used to sideline the National Assembly.

The US statement slammed the Constituent Assembly as having been "created through an undemocratic process instigated by Maduro's government to subvert the will of the Venezuelan people."

It also said Maduro Guerra "has profited from Venezuelan mines along with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores," and engaged in propaganda and censorship efforts on behalf of his father's government.

The US had previously sanctioned the Venezuelan president and eight members of the Constituent Assembly, as part of a wide-ranging effort that has also targeted the government's oil revenues and access to international financial markets.

The new sanctions came in a week of simmering tensions.

On Thursday, the US government announced indictments of two Venezuelans on money laundering charges, including Maduro's former electric power minister and another top ministry official.

The country's electrical grid was hit with major, days-long outages in March, another sign of crumbling infrastructure and services that have contributed to a mass migration of Venezuelans.

On Wednesday, the Venezuelan government said it foiled a plot to assassinate Maduro, who accused the United States, Colombia and Chile of complicity.

At least six of the alleged plotters were arrested, Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said.

Maduro has claimed to have been a target of assassination plots before, including an apparent attempt to blow up a drone near him at a military parade in August 2018.

His former intelligence chief, Christopher Figuera, arrived in Washington this week after fleeing Venezuela in May following Guaido's failed attempt to spark a military uprising on April 30.

Figuera told the Washington Post he had plotted with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Supreme Court chief Maikel Moreno to oust Maduro during the uprising, but they got cold feet.

Both Padrino and Moreno remain in office.

Ivan Simonovis, a former Venezuelan national police chief who fled house arrest in Caracas where he was being held on murder charges, surfaced in Washington this week to talk to US lawmakers about "criminal activities" of the Maduro government. He backed up many of Figuera's allegations.

Simonovis told AFP in an interview in Miami that Maduro senior has the choice of leaving or being overthrown. Asked if there is, in fact, a drive afoot to remove Maduro, Simonovis demurred.

"At this point, there are very high level political decisions. I am simply part of the 'how' in that decision, not the 'whether.'" </s> US slaps sanctions on son of Venezuelan leader Maduro

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for serving in his father´s “illegitimate regime.” “Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on the economy and suppress the people of Venezuela,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in announcing the action. “Treasury will continue to target complicit relatives of illegitimate regime insiders profiting off of Maduro´s corruption,” he said. The action freezes any assets Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra has in the United States and bars American individuals or institutions from doing business with him. The latest US action comes as Maduro moves to consolidate his hold on power after a failed coup attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido. Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, is recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela´s acting president.
The United States announces sanctions on Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of disputed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of engaging in propaganda on behalf of the government.