CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that the United States was unlawfully seeking to take U.S. oil refiner Citgo, a unit of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
“The United States today has decided to follow the path of stealing Citgo from Venezuela,” Maduro said in a televised broadcast to receive diplomats returning from the United States. “PDVSA will take legal, political, operational and commercial measures to defend Venezuela’s interests in the United States.”
The Trump administration on Monday imposed sweeping sanctions on PDVSA in an effort to increase pressure on Maduro to step aside.
Writing by Cynthia Osterman; Editing by James Dalgleish
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