WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. blacklisted Venezuela’s Vice President Tareck El Aissami and an associate for drug trafficking, the first crackdown by the Trump administration against top officials in President Nicolas Maduro’s government for money laundering and the drug trade. "The action today is the culmination of a multi-year investigation under the Kingpin Act to target significant narcotics traffickers in Venezuela and demonstrates that power and influence do not protect those who engage in these illicit activities," said John E Smith, Acting Director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Monday’s action imposes sanctions on El Aissami that prohibit anyone in the United States from doing business with him, and freezing any assets the US.
The United States sanctions Vice President of Venezuela Tareck El Aissami for allegedly "playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking". The sanctions freeze his assets in the U.S. and bar him from entering the country.