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The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this Friday new sanctions against several relatives and associates of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as part of measures to target the networks of corruption and drug trafficking that support the regime in Caracas.
In a statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that the measures target members of the immediate circle of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores —nephew of Cilia Flores and former senior official of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)— as well as relatives of the Panamanian businessman Ramón Carretero Napolitano, linked to financial operations of the Chavista regime.
"Today we sanctioned individuals who support the narco-state of Nicolás Maduro. We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding our nation with deadly drugs," stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
He said that "Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten the peace and stability of our hemisphere. The Trump Administration will continue to target the networks that sustain his illegitimate dictatorship."
The sanctions extend to Eloisa Flores de Malpica, mother of Malpica and sister of Cilia Flores; his father Carlos Evelio Malpica Torrealba; his sister Iriamni Malpica Flores; his wife Damaris del Carmen Hurtado Pérez; and his daughter Erica Patricia Malpica Hurtado.
All were designated under Executive Order 13850 for being direct relatives of an individual involved in corrupt practices and fraudulent financial operations with the Government of Venezuela.
Similarly, the OFAC sanctioned Roberto Carretero Napolitano and Vicente Luis Carretero Napolitano, relatives of businessman Ramón Carretero, who had already been added to the blacklist on December 11 for his role in illicit transactions with the Malpica Flores clan and the economic structure of the Maduro regime.
With these measures, the Donald Trump administration blocked all goods and assets of those sanctioned that are located in U.S. territory or under the control of American entities.
Furthermore, all financial, commercial, or service transactions with the designated individuals are prohibited, except with explicit authorization from the OFAC, the entity emphasizes.
Any company or individual that has ties to those sanctioned could face secondary sanctions, it warns.
The note clarifies that banks and financial entities that engage with individuals included in the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list risk facing sanctions or fines, even if the transactions are indirect.
The measure reinforces Washington's strategy to dismantle the family and economic networks that support Maduro's dictatorship, particularly those linked to the alleged embezzlement of PDVSA funds and money laundering through shell companies in Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Spain.
Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, the political nephew of Maduro, was the national treasurer of Venezuela and the vice president of Finance at PDVSA.
He has been accused by the United States, Europe, and several Latin American countries of leading a multimillion-dollar scheme involving corruption and drug trafficking that funnels resources into the family circle of the Venezuelan leader.
According to the Department of the Treasury, the sanctions aim to "force a change in behavior" among officials and associates of the regime, rather than simply punishing them.
Washington maintains sanctions on over 150 Venezuelan individuals and entities, including PDVSA, the Central Bank of Venezuela, shipping companies linked to the covert export of oil, and international financial operators associated with the Chavista regime.
The announcement comes amid a escalation of tensions in the Caribbean, following the Trump Administration's decision to strengthen the naval blockade against sanctioned tankers of the Venezuelan "ghost fleet," an operation that also impacts crude supplies to Cuba, Maduro's main political ally.
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