Last year, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced a new cryptocurrency, called the Petro, that would be backed by gold, oil, diamonds, and a couple of other commodities. It was meant to curtail United States-imposed regulations, as well as offer some value to citizens.
The Trump administration isn’t pleased.
On Monday, President Donald Trump modified U.S. sanctions against the socialist government by banning financial transactions that include the country’s new digital currency. The tightened rules would involve any U.S. citizen or anyone operating within the U.S. using the currency on or after January 9.
“President Maduro decimated the Venezuelan economy and spurred a humanitarian crisis,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement. “Instead of correcting course to avoid further catastrophe, the Maduro regime is attempting to circumvent sanctions through the Petro digital policy—a ploy that Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly has denounced, and Treasury has cautioned U.S. persons to avoid.”
The Treasury Department also instituted several other sanctions on four current and former Venezuelan officials over “mismanagement and corruption.”
“We urge Maduro to distribute humanitarian aid and stop blocking much-needed foreign assistance to the suffering people of Venezuela, and we again call upon the Venezuelan military to respect and uphold the Constitution,” he said.
For a socialist state that is already starving and facing a humanitarian crisis, the U.S. should not add to the damage. Socialism kills, sanctions only worsen the situation.
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