Venezuela's Maduro taps sanctioned VP to 'restructure' oil industry

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a news conference in Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, February 14, 2020. REUTERS/Fausto Torrealba

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday he would create a presidential commission to restructure the country's beleaguered oil industry, which will be led by Vice President for the Economy Tareck El Aissami.

The announcement came a day after the United States sanctioned Rosneft Trading, a unit of Russian state oil company Rosneft , that has emerged as a major intermediary for Venezuelan crude since Washington blacklisted Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., or PDVSA, last year to try to oust Maduro.