United States Seeks to Cut Off Money for Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro

United States Seeks to Cut Off Money for Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro
President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro (L) looks on before talking to judges and members of the Supreme Justice Tribunal on its annual opening day of sessions in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 24, 2019. Getty Images
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WASHINGTON/CARACAS—The United States is seeking to ensure that Venezuelan oil revenue goes to opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, and to cut off money from increasingly isolated President Nicolas Maduro, a top U.S. official said on Jan. 24.

Although short on details, the announcement signals that Washington is willing to go beyond traditional diplomatic measures and will seek to drain cash from Maduro’s government, which is already struggling under an unprecedented economic meltdown.