US sanctions single entity tied to Venezuela’s oil sector in targeted action

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took aim at just one target in its latest Venezuela-related sanctions round: Bluwaves Properties Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands with ties to Venezuela’s oil industry. The August 18, 2026 designation marks a narrowly focused action in what has become an increasingly complex sanctions landscape surrounding Venezuela’s energy sector. Bluwaves previously held a minority stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP, which operates as Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer. A $300 million exit, right on time Florida-based energy magnate Harry Sargeant III, a well-known Republican donor with deep ties to Venezuela’s oil industry, sold Bluwaves Properties for $300 million around August 10, roughly a week before the sanctions landed. The buyer was reportedly linked to Alejandro Betancourt, a Venezuelan businessman who serves as NABEP’s controlling shareholder. Sargeant’s portfolio of Venezuelan interests has spanned asphalt exports and oil field development rights, making him one of the more prominent American players in the country’s energy sector. The broader Venezuela puzzle This...