US, Venezuela escalate crisis

CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials it accused of helping Colombian rebels smuggle drugs, deepening a diplomatic crisis that raised the specter of an oil supply cutoff.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Venezuela’s top two intelligence chiefs and a recently retired interior minister had assisted Marxist guerrillas fighting the U.S.-backed Colombian government to traffic in cocaine and guns.


The United States banned U.S. citizens from having dealings with the officials and froze any U.S. assets they may own.

The sanctions were announced in Washington a day after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to stop crude sales to the United States and expelled the U.S. ambassador, plunging relations to the lowest point in years.

Reuters