SUNDAY TIMES WEB DESK: The U.S. Treasury identified the firms as Liberia-based Jennifer Navigation Ltd, Lima Shipping Corp and Large Range Ltd, and Italy-based PB Tankers S.P.A.
It blacklisted one tanker belonging to each of the Liberian firms and six owned by the Italian firm.
A Treasury statement said Venezuela’s oil sector continued “to provide a lifeline to the illegitimate regime” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“We continue to target companies that transport Venezuelan oil to Cuba, as they are profiting while the Maduro regime pillages natural resources,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.
“Venezuela’s oil belongs to the Venezuelan people, and should not be used as a bargaining tool to prop up dictators and prolong oppression,” he said.