U.S. slaps sanctions on Mexican firms, individuals linked to Venezuelan oil trade

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a sculpture outside a building of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela May 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday blacklisted Mexico's Libre Abordo and a related company, accusing them of helping Caracas evade U.S. sanctions in the first formal action by the U.S. Treasury Department against Mexican firms involved in trading Venezuelan oil.

The Treasury said in a statement it imposed sanctions on three individuals, eight entities and two vessels for activities related to a network attempting to skirt U.S. sanctions on Venezuela aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro.