US-Venezuela ties: From sanctions to military action
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Relations between Washington and Venezuela plummet following the 1999 arrival in power of President Hugo Chavez, Latin America’s leftist firebrand.
PHOTO: EPA
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PARIS - The US military attack on Caracas on Jan 3 – and reported capture of President Nicolas Maduro
2006: First sanctions
Relations between Washington and Venezuela plummet following the 1999 arrival in power of President Hugo Chavez, Latin America’s leftist firebrand.
In 2006, the United States under President George W. Bush bans the sale of weapons and US-made military equipment to Venezuela, citing a lack of cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
By 2010, the two countries no longer have ambassadors in each other’s capital.
2014: Accusations of human rights violations
After Chavez dies in 2013 following a battle with cancer and his handpicked successor Nicolas Maduro takes over, the US administration of Mr Barack Obama imposes in late 2014 and early 2015 sanctions on several top Venezuelan officials, freezing their US assets and banning visas.
Washington accuses Venezuela of rights breaches in its violent crackdown on demonstrations against Mr Maduro.
2017: Trump raises ‘military option’
The first administration of Mr Donald Trump in 2017 slaps financial sanctions on several top officials, including members of the supreme court, for having undermined the powers of parliament.
The legislative body had been under the control of the opposition since late 2015.
After Mr Maduro created a Constituent Assembly to override Parliament, Washington imposes sanctions on him, freezing his assets in the United States.
Mr Trump for the first time speaks of a “military option” in Venezuela, a threat he would go on to repeat over the coming years.
Washington bans the purchase of bonds issued by the Venezuelan government and by national oil company PDVSA.
2019: Sanctions toughened
After Mr Maduro’s re-election, which Washington and other capitals consider a sham, Mr Trump in 2019 toughens economic sanctions with the aim of strangling the country and ousting Mr Maduro.
Caracas severs diplomatic relations after the United States, followed by dozens of other countries, recognises opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.
Mr Guaido’s self-proclaimed government is dissolved in 2023.
Washington also imposes sanctions on oil company PDVSA and Venezuela’s central bank.
2019: Oil embargo
On April 28, 2019, Washington slaps an oil embargo on Venezuela. It then freezes all Venezuelan government assets in the United States.
The oil embargo is slightly eased in 2023 to compensate for a shortfall of Russian crude after the invasion of Ukraine.
It is reinstated when Washington says that Mr Maduro is not meeting his commitment to hold a fair presidential election in 2024, with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado – a future Nobel Peace laureate – declared ineligible.
At the beginning of his second term in early 2025, Mr Trump puts a stop to the oil licences which allowed oil and gas multinationals to operate in Venezuela despite the sanctions.
US company Chevron is allowed to operate anew in July, but is no longer allowed to give money to the Venezuelan government.
2020: US$50 million (S$64.28 million) bounty for Maduro
In 2020 Mr Maduro, and several of his entourage, are charged in the United States with “narco-terrorism” with Washington offering a reward of US$15 million (S$19.29 million) for any information leading to his arrest.
In August 2025, it raises the reward to US$50 million.
Washington accuses Mr Maduro of leading the so-called “Cartel of the Suns”, whose existence remains to be proved, according to experts.
2025: Air strikes
August 2025 signals the start of a massive US military build-up in the Caribbean, where Washington has since September been carrying out deadly air strikes on boats
On Dec 10, the United States says it had seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast
Mr Trump on Dec 29 says his forces hit and destroyed a docking area on Venezuela’s coast which he alleged was used by drug boats – the first known land strike in the US military campaign.
2026: Caracas attacked, Maduro grabbed
On Jan 3, the US conducts a wave of airstrikes on and around Caracas and Mr Trump declares that his military captured Mr Maduro and his wife and flew them out of Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government accuses the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” and calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. AFP
