Washington [US], January 2: The Trump administration is stepping up its campaign to pressure Venezuelan oil exports by imposing new sanctions on several companies based in China.
According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department on January 1, four companies linked to Venezuela's oil industry have been added to the sanctions list , including Corniola (Zhejiang Province, China) and three Hong Kong-based businesses: Aries Global Investment, Krape Myrtle Co., and Winky International.
OFAC also imposed sanctions on four other oil tankers: Della, Nord Star, Rosalind, and Valiant. "These vessels, some of which belong to Venezuela's submarine fleet, continue to provide funding to the government of President Nicolas Maduro," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.
The U.S. has long sanctioned numerous ships and companies involved in Venezuelan oil operations, but directly targeting Chinese businesses is a rare move. This is seen as a warning to China not to become deeply involved in the confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela , according to the South China Morning Post .
China is currently Venezuela's largest oil customer, accounting for approximately 95% of the South American nation's oil export revenue. Previously, China criticized the blockade of Venezuelan ports as "unilateral bullying" and argued that the seizure of oil tankers violated international law.
In another development, Russia reportedly called on the US to stop pursuing an oil tanker en route to Venezuela - identified as Bella 1, according to The New York Times on January 1.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela continue to escalate as CNN reported on January 2nd, citing a US official, that at least five American citizens have been detained by Venezuelan security forces in recent months. The official added that the Trump administration is gathering information about the activities of Americans in Venezuela and the timing of their arrests.
In December 2025, the US conducted its first drone strike targeting land targets in Venezuela, as part of a comprehensive campaign to increase pressure on Caracas.
Since September 2025, there have been at least 34 attacks and at least 115 deaths in U.S. military operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific targeting ships suspected of drug trafficking.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
