US imposes sanctions on 15 Venezuelan aircraft

The United States has added 15 Venezuelan aircraft to its sanctions list, the Department of the Treasury said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The following aircraft have been added to OFAC's (Office of Foreign Assets Control) Specially Designated Nationals list," the Treasury said in a statement that listed the models, tail numbers and serial numbers of each of the aircraft.

At the beginning of January, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said during a press briefing that the US was looking at potentially applying additional sanctions in Venezuela to put more pressure on the Maduro government.

In November, the United States sanctioned Cuba's Corporacion Panamericana over its activity in Venezuela's oil sector.

The long-running Venezuelan political crisis began last January when opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally proclaimed himself president of Venezuela following the election in which Nicolas Maduro was victorious. Guaido was promptly endorsed as the president by the United States and several Latin American countries, including Bolivia and Uruguay.

Maduro has characterised the situation in the country as an attempted coup prompted by the United States. A number of countries, including Russia, China, Cuba, and Turkey, rejected Guaido's claims to the presidency and continue to recognise Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.

At the beginning of the week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated his oft-repeated call for the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from office.