The Trump administration has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle, sanctioning seven family members and associates connected to what U.S. officials describe as a “narco-state” operation.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the sanctions on December 19, 2025, targeting immediate family members of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores and Panamanian businessman Ramon Carretero Napolitano — both previously sanctioned figures in Maduro’s financial network.
Family Networks in the Crosshairs
Among those newly designated are Malpica Flores’ parents, sister, wife, and daughter, all sanctioned under Executive Order 13850. The Treasury also targeted Roberto and Vicente Luis Carretero Napolitano, relatives of Ramon Carretero.
“Today, Treasury sanctioned individuals who are propping up Nicolás Maduro’s rogue narco-state. We will not allow Venezuela to continue flooding our nation with deadly drugs,” Treasury officials said in their statement.
The consequences? Substantial. All property and interests belonging to these individuals that fall under U.S. jurisdiction are now blocked. Any entities that are majority-owned by the sanctioned individuals are similarly affected. Those who violate these sanctions could face civil or criminal penalties on what officials describe as a “strict liability” basis.
Part of a Broader Campaign
These designations aren’t happening in isolation. They follow earlier sanctions imposed on both Malpica Flores and Carretero Napolitano themselves earlier this month, suggesting an escalating campaign against Maduro’s support structure.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent didn’t mince words: “Maduro and his criminal accomplices threaten our hemisphere’s peace and stability. The Trump Administration will continue targeting the networks that prop up his illegitimate dictatorship.”
What’s driving this aggressive approach? Officials have increasingly framed Venezuela’s leadership not just as a political challenge, but as a criminal enterprise with direct implications for U.S. national security, particularly through drug trafficking.
More to Come?
Administration officials have signaled this is just the beginning. One senior official warned, “There is much more to come. Maduro, his family, and his associates face a choice: cease drug trafficking, halt corruption, abandon the dictatorship, and leave the country—or face the consequences.”
The sanctions strategy reflects the returning Trump administration’s hardline approach to Venezuela, picking up where it left off in the previous term. By targeting family members and business associates, the Treasury Department aims to isolate Maduro’s inner circle and cut off financial lifelines that have helped sustain the regime despite years of economic crisis.
Critics of the approach have questioned whether such sanctions ultimately harm ordinary Venezuelans more than regime leaders. Supporters argue that targeting family networks is necessary to close loopholes that allow sanctioned individuals to maintain control of assets through relatives.
For now, the message from Washington is unmistakable: the financial noose around Maduro’s extended network is tightening, with no signs of loosening anytime soon.
