The US administration is developing additional sanctions to stop the supply of oil from Venezuela to Cuba, said John Bolton, presidential adviser to Donald Trump on national security.

Axar.az informs with reference to Kommersant that Bolton spoke in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon.

“We will further extend the restrictions on individuals from Venezuela and Cuba. We will make additional efforts to prevent the transportation of oil from Venezuela to Cuba. Obviously, whenever we impose sanctions, the Maduro regime is trying to circumvent them, so we are looking for new ways to counter this,” Bolton saidş

He stressed that now there are about 15 thousand troops and security forces of Cuba in Venezuela - in exchange for military assistance, Havana receives oil from Caracas at prices significantly lower than the market. But, according to John Bolton, only Cuba benefits from such arrangements. According to him, one of the main goals of the United States is to oust the Cuban military from Venezuela.

In April, Washington already imposed sanctions on two companies that supply oil from Venezuela to Cuba, as well as restrictions against the Venezuelan Central Bank. Previously, the Venezuelan state-owned company PDVSA fell under sanctions, Venezuelan assets worth $7 billion were arrested, and all American counteragents were barred from working with the company. In early June, a new package of sanctions was introduced against Cuba: from June 5, passenger ships are prohibited from entering the Cuban ports, and group trips to the island were also banned under the exchange program.

Venezuela saw attempted coup in January. The United States recognized Juan Guaido as interim president of the republic. They were also supported by Canada, many countries in Latin America, including Brazil and Argentina, as well as most EU countries. Nicolas Maduro is considered the legitimate president of Venezuela in Russia, China, Cuba and Mexico.