America heaps more sanctions on Venezuela

AFTER THE axis of evil comes the “exclusive club of rogue nations”. That at least is how John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, described Venezuela’s place in the world when he spoke on the sidelines of a conference in Lima, the capital of Peru, on August 6th. The meeting, attended by representatives of 59 countries, was called by the Peruvian government to discuss what to do about the “day after” Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, falls from power. But it was the United States that stole the limelight.

On August 5th Mr Trump signed an executive order to, in effect, quarantine Venezuela in economic terms. The order freezes Venezuelan government assets. It is the harshest measure to date, aimed at all assets instead of specific companies, such as the state oil producer, PDVSA, as in the past. But it also applies secondary measures to anyone doing business with Venezuela. It is these sanctions which most threaten Mr Maduro’s government.

According to Mr Bolton, companies around the world need to decide whether they want to receive a “trickle of income” from Venezuela or trade with the United States. The measure would allow the United States to move against any company, country or individual trading with Venezuela. America has had similar third-party sanctions in place against Cuba since the...