Washington hits Venezuela’s gold sector with new sanctions

In a statement, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, said it was sanctioning the Venezuelan General Mining Company, Minerven, and its president, Adrian Antonio Perdomo. Under the Treasury designation, Minerven and Perdomo’s assets in the United States will be frozen and U.S. citizens and residents are prohibited from doing business with them. Treasury says Maduro and his security forces control the crime-riddled area in southern Venezuela where makeshift and illegal mining is running rampant. While the government buys the gold in devalued bolivares it’s selling the gold on the international market for desperately needed hard currency. More…