US warns countries, including India, against buying oil from Venezuela

The oil exporting country is now looking up to India as the US imposed stringent sanctions on it in the month of January.

The logo of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, is seen at a gas station in Caracas, on January 29, 2019. - The United States announced sanctions against Venezuela's state oil company Monday in a coordinated effort with the main opposition leader to cripple embattled President Nicolas Maduro's power base. (Photo by Luis ROBAYO / AFP)

New Delhi: The United States has warned countries including India, against buying Venezuelan oil. The tough-talking National Security Adviser John Bolton has warned countries including India against buying Venezuelan oil, news agency PTI reported. It reported that the US said the nations and firms that support the embattled President Nicolas Maduro’s “theft” will “not be forgotten”. The oil exporting country is now looking up to India as the US imposed stringent sanctions on it in the month of January. Oil exports of the politically torn country have tapered off and have now shifted to India since new US sanction began on January 28, as state-run oil company PDVSA seeks to replace deliveries to the US and Europe that were disrupted by payment restrictions, Reuters said in a report. India is the second largest customer of the South American nation after the United States. Venezuela is turning its focus to cash-paying buyers amid the US sanctions designed to undercut financial support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, so that his access to oil revenue can be barred. The oil revenue has helped Maduro’s government to remain in power. In the two weeks since the sanctions were announced, PDVSA has been able to load the export 1.15 million barrels per day, the report said citing Refinitiv Eikon data. Venezuela was exporting about 1.4 million bpd in the months before sanctions, according to the cited data.