U.S. imposes sanctions on Venezuelan President Maduro's inner circle on September 25

The U.S. Department of Treasury released a statement announcing another round of sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s inner circle, including his wife Cilia Flores, acting Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Communication Minister Jorge Rodríguez, Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino, and Diosdado Cabello’s front man Rafael Sarria. The sanctions effectively block the targeted individuals from using property and financial assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction. American citizens are additionally banned from engaging in transactions with sanctioned individuals.

Although records indicate that the U.S. has been imposing sanctions on Venezuela since 2014, actions against Venezuelan officials and government owned enterprises have increased since 2017. While the latest sanctions have blocked 20 million USD worth of Cabello’s assets in the U.S., such measures are unlikely have a major impact on the overall Venezuelan crisis. For that matter, they are not likely to coerce government officials into entering negotiations with the opposition. In any event, further U.S. imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan government will undermine Caracas’ efforts to find foreign financing to tackle its debts.