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Report: Trump weighs new US sanctions on Venezuelan oil, senior officials

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is considering new sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil industry and additional government officials to put more pressure on President Nicolas Maduro who is seeking re-election, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

Washington and its allies view the election as a sham, the official said.

The new sanctions could hit Venezuela's military-run oil services firm Camimpeg. The administration could also put restrictions on insurance coverage for oil tankers and oil cargoes involving the country's state-owned oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, the official added.

Without insurance, Venezuelan oil exports would likely be curtailed. Limits on cargo insurance would also hurt because PDVSA has a relatively small tanker fleet, Reuters reported.

The Trump administration also continues to consider blocking the sale of lighter U.S. crude and refined products that Venezuela mixes with its heavy crude and then exports. And the new moves could include additional senior military and political figures, including National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, the official said.

The official did not rule out an eventual full-scale ban on Venezuelan oil shipments to the U.S., among the toughest of oil-related sanctions, anticipating "a fairly strong" short-term shock to the oil market if it were to happen.

Some measures could be imposed before the Venezuelan presidential vote and others afterward. Even if Venezuelan authorities delay the election by a month or two, the U.S. administration will not likely hold back on sanctions, the official added.

No decisions have been made, the official stressed: "Oil sanctions are not taken lightly. This would be a fairly strong escalation for U.S. policy, whether it's a complete oil sanction or salami slices of different graduated steps."

"The goal here is to continue to pressure an illegitimate regime so that they would leave power or be removed from power," U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who has pushed for Trump's tougher approach on Venezuela, told Reuters.

Venezuela's Information Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on potential further sanctions. In August 2017, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Maduro's government and PDVSA, which Venezuelan foreign minister Jorge Arreaza said Feb. 27 are making foreign debt renegotiation more difficult and causing "panic" at global banks, Reuters reported.