WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has ordered new sanctions against Venezuela, aiming to disrupt the country's gold exports.
The announcement came on Thursday in the middle of a speech by National Security Adviser John Bolton on the current state of US relationships with South America in Miami.
Labelling the three nations as "the troika of tyranny in this hemisphere," Bolton accused Cuba of helping Venezuela, saying the State Department will sanction over two dozen entities owned or controlled by the Cuban military and intelligence services, with which US nationals are barred from doing business, Qatar News Agency reported.
The remarks came on the same day when United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted its 27th annual resolution calling for an end to the nation's economic embargo on Cuba, after a failed bid by Washington to amend the text to push Havana to improve its human rights record.
The executive order also placed restrictions on certain individuals from emigrating to US, arguing that allowing unrestricted entry to the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the nation.
Trump's executive order is just the latest round of sanctions placed against President Nicolas Maduro's regime.
In May, shortly after Maduro's re-election, the US ordered sanctions in an effort to prevent Venezuela from quickly selling off key assets.