LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Venezuelan dollar bonds fell further on Tuesday after the United States slapped sanctions on President Nicolas Maduro following the controversial creation of an all-powerful legislative body.

Under the sanctions all of Maduro’s assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and Americans are barred from doing business with him. The White House branded Maduro a dictator for “seizing absolute power”.

“We expect further measures over time, as the U.S. ratchets up the pressure, but we think a trade embargo is still some way off,” said Stuart Culverhouse, Global Head of Macro & Fixed Income Research at Exotix Capital in London.

Nevertheless, he added markets would fear that trade sanctions, cutting off Venezuela’s only source of foreign exchange, would precipitate default, and perhaps bring about the collapse of the government.

Venezuela’s benchmark sovereign bond maturing 2038 fell almost 1 cent to 37.6 cents in the dollar, trading just above the 13-month lows hit on Friday, according to Reuters data.

State oil firm PDVSA’s benchmark 2037 bond was down 0.7 cents to 32.05 cents in the dollar, hitting its lowest level since June 2016.

Both the sovereign and PDVSA bonds were down across the curve, with PDVSA’s 2021 issue falling 1.5 cents and the sovereign 2022 issue dropping 1.3 cents.

The moves also came as further domestic developments unfolded.

Venezuelan opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were taken from homes, where they were serving house arrest, the two leaders’ family members said on social media, adding President Maduro was responsible for their fates. (Reporting by Claire Milhench; editing by Marc Jones)