The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday identified 15 aircraft as blocked property of Venezuelan state-owned oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA).
Several PdVSA aircraft have been used to transport senior members of Nicolas Maduro’s government, according to the Treasury. Some have operated in an unsafe and unprofessional manner in proximity to U.S. military aircraft while in international airspace, the Treasury said.
PdVSA was sanctioned in January 2019; Maduro was designated in 2017, and the U.S. and more than 50 other countries no longer recognize him as the Venezuelan leader. The U.S. has previously blocked PdVSA property. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Monday with Juan Guaido, whom the U.S. and other nations recognize as Venezuela’s interim president.
“This action furthers U.S. efforts to use targeted sanctions and steady diplomacy to end Maduro’s attempts to usurp power, and to support a Venezuelan transition to democracy, including free and fair presidential elections,” Pompeo said in a statement about the aircraft.
Venzuelan Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo, who was sanctioned in February as PdVSA’s president, traveled aboard a PdVSA aircraft in summer 2019 to attend a meeting of oil-producing countries in the United Arab Emirates, the Treasury said.
That aircraft, a Falcon 200EX jet, was used throughout 2019 to transport senior Maduro officials, in what the Treasury said was a continuation of the misappropriation of PdVSA assets.
One PdVSA aircraft flew in close proximity to a U.S. military aircraft over the Caribbean Sea; another attempted to interfere with a U.S. military aircraft in the same area, the Treasury said.
The aircraft designations come as the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a series of amended general licenses concerning sanctions on Venezuela.
Late Friday, OFAC extended, until April 22, a block on the sale or transfer of shares of CITGO Holding Inc. linked to the holders of a bond issued by PdVSA. Also Friday, OFAC extended for another three months the authorizations of Chevron Corp. and four other companies to operate in the country. And on Tuesday, OFAC extended a license allowing certain transactions with major international bodies such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the Red Cross.
Separately on Tuesday, the Treasury also announced a settlement with Park Strategies, LLC over allegations that the firm signed a contract in August 2017 with Al-Barakaat Group of Companies Somalia Limited, which was sanctioned in 2001. The contract required the New York-based lobbying firm, founded by former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato, to provide lobbying services for Al-Barakaat Group, which were outside the scope of authorized activities under the sanctions regulations, according to the OFAC notice announcing the settlement.
“This enforcement action highlights important sanctions compliance considerations for attorneys, law firms and legal services organizations seeking to represent blocked persons as clients,” OFAC said in the notice.
“Professional services such as lobbying, public relations, government affairs, consulting and business development are not legal services, and are generally not covered by general licenses authorizing the provision of legal services to blocked persons.”
Park Strategies also lobbied for the Somali government, but the relationship ended in February 2018, lobbying records show.
