On March 12, the United States took action against another Russian oil brokerage firm helping to prop up the former Maduro regime by sanctioning TNK Trading International S.A. (TNK) for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy. Following the recent Treasury designation of Rosneft Trading S.A. (RTSA), TNK was directly involved in efforts to assist RTSA evade U.S. sanctions. TNK, incorporated in Switzerland, is a subsidiary of Russian state-controlled Rosneft Oil Company. These actions follow the designation of RTSA on February 18, 2020, and the subsequent change in allocation of cargoes of Venezuelan oil from RTSA to TNK. In January 2020 alone, TNK purchased nearly 14 million barrels of crude oil from Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA).

The people of Venezuela, interim President Juan Guaido, and the democratically elected National Assembly need the continued support of our international partners. We call on the international community to join us in applying stronger pressure on Maduro and his corrupt former regime to relinquish its illegitimate hold on power in Venezuela. The United States, in coordination with international partners, will continue to increase the pressure on Maduro and his enablers until freedom and prosperity are restored in Venezuela.