By Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on family members and associates of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as Washington ratchets up pressure on the Venezuelan president.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on seven people it said were tied to Maduro and his wife, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused them of "propping up Nicolás Maduro’s rogue narcostate."
"We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding
our nation with deadly drugs,” Bessent said in a statement.
“Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten our hemisphere’s peace and stability. The Trump Administration will continue targeting the networks that prop up his illegitimate dictatorship.”
Venezuela's information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maduro and his government have vehemently denied links to crime and say that the U.S. is pursuing regime change in order to take control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
The action comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up pressure on Maduro, campaigning for his ouster and executing a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean.
The Trump administration has carried out strikes against suspected drug vessels in the region, seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and declared a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
Trump has also repeatedly said that strikes on land in Venezuela are coming soon.
Friday's action sanctioned relatives of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, the nephew of Maduro's wife who the U.S. says was involved in a corruption plot at the state oil company and who was sanctioned by Washington last week.
His mother, who is also the sister of Maduro's wife, father, sister, wife and daughter were hit with sanctions on Friday.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
