US Expands Sanctions Targeting Family Network of Venezuela’s Maduro

The new sanctions target relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s wife and immediate family members of a Panamanian businessman.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the Meeting of Jurists in Defense of International Law at the Eurobuilding Hotel in Caracas on Nov. 14, 2025. Federico Parra/AFP

The United States imposed fresh sanctions on individuals linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Dec. 19 as part of an escalating pressure campaign targeting alleged drug trafficking and corruption by the regime.

“We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding our nation with deadly drugs,” U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a press release on Dec. 19. “Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten our hemisphere’s peace and stability.”