WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new financial sanctions against the Venezuelan government, the White House said in a statement on Friday.
The White House said the measures were "carefully calibrated" to put financial pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
The statement added that the Treasury Department will issue general licenses for businesses to do transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by the sanctions.
The United States has imposed new sanctions on a number of Venezuelan officials in recent months, including Maduro, over the government’s plan to rewrite the country’s constitution through a National Constituent Assembly.
The United States previously threatened to sanction anyone involved with the Constituent Assembly, whose elections were held on July 31.