Washington, January 30 (RHC)-- The United States has placed sweeping new sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA in the latest attempt to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.  

The sanctions are designed to cut off an essential source of income for Venezuela, tightening an economic war on the Bolivarian Revolution.  The sanctions come one week after the U.S. announced it was recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the "president" of Venezuela. 

In a recent interview on Fox Business, national security adviser John Bolton openly said U.S. oil companies could benefit from what’s happening in Venezuela.  Bolton said: “We’re in conversation with major American companies now that are either in Venezuela or in the case of Citgo here in the United States.  It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela.  It’d be good for the people of Venezuela.  It’d be good for the people of the United States.”

Minnesota Congressmember Ilhan Omar tweeted: “Trump’s new sanctions on Venezuela are nothing more than economic sabotage designed to force regime change by starving the very people we claim to be helping.  We must lift these, & other sanctions impacting Venezuela’s poor, & support dialogue between the opposition & government.”