US slaps sanctions on Maduro relatives as war fears build

THE US Treasury imposed new sanctions on Thursday against three of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s relatives as well as six companies shipping the South American country’s oil.

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The move came as the White House said it would bring an oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast to a port in the US, adding to growing fears of open conflict between the two countries.

Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at Maduro’s “regime”.

Treasury officials said three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, were being slapped with sanctions, labelling two of the men “narco-traffickers operating in Venezuela”.

“Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

US President Donald Trump's administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months with a major naval buildup in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people.