US blacklists Venezuela state-owned oil company

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. on Monday blacklisted Venezuela's state-owned oil and natural gas company as it continues to ramp up economic and diplomatic pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The sanctions on PDVSA are expected to block $7 billion in assets, and result in $11 billion of lost export revenue over the next year, National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters at the White House.

General licenses have been issued to authorize certain transactions, including to some European and Caribbean countries to allow time to transition off of PDVSA crude, according to the Treasury Department.