The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the trading arm of Rosneft, Russia’s state oil champion, for transporting Venezuelan crude in violation of US sanctions, ramping up its pressure campaign to oust Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro from power.

“As the primary broker of global deals for the sale and transport of Venezuela’s crude oil, Rosneft Trading has propped up the dictatorial Maduro, enabling his repression of the Venezuelan people”, - said Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state. He added that Maduro had benefited from “malign support” from Russia, Cuba, Iran and China.

A senior US administration official said that the measure “not only goes after the US-based assets but also stands as a prohibition worldwide”. He added that anyone engaging with Rosneft Trading, the Geneva-based subsidiary, risked being sanctioned by the US.