US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any country that buys gas or oil from Venezuela will pay a 25 percent tariff on trade with the United States.
"Secondary tariffs" will take effect on April 2, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said he made this decision because Venezuela has sent "tens of thousands" of people to the US who have "very violent natures."
This announcement increased the price of crude oil by almost 1.5 percent.
Earlier this month, Trump suspended for 30 days the license granted by the US to the oil company, Chevron, which has been operating in sanctioned Venezuela since 2022.
The president made this decision after accusing President Nicolas Maduro of not making sufficient progress on electoral reforms and the return of migrants.
Trump said earlier this month that he was invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportation of suspected members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, without final orders from immigration judges.
China, which is already affected by US tariffs, is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil.
In February, China directly or indirectly received 503,000 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela.
Spain, Italy, Cuba and India are other consumers of Venezuelan oil.
Maduro's government has not commented on this decision./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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