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Wednesday, September 13, 2017, 15:24
Official: US sanctions hurt both Americans, Venezuelans
By Xinhua
Wednesday, September 13, 2017, 15:24 By Xinhua

The president of Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, offers a press conference to foreign media correspondents, at the Foreign Ministry in Caracas on Aug 28, 2017. (FEDERICO PARRA / AFP)

CARACAS/UNITED NATIONS - Unilateral sanctions by Washington will harm both US companies and Venezuela's economy, Delcy Rodriguez, president of Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) newly elected to rewrite the constitution, told Xinhua in an interview.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on Venezuela last month, which will prohibit dealings in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company.

The main holders of Venezuelan debt bonds are Americans, Canadians and British; (Trump) is harming those bond holders

Delcy Rodriguez, President, National Constituent Assembly, Venezuela

It was the latest round of sanctions slapped by the Trump administration on the South American country after Venezuela held elections for the ANC at the end of July.

"The main holders of Venezuelan debt bonds are Americans, Canadians and British; (Trump) is harming those bond holders," said Rodriguez.

ALSO READ: Venezuela's Maduro seeks debt negotiations after US sanctions

Washington's unilateral actions "are going to harm US companies," she said.

Venezuela's business ties with the United States created jobs and contributed to social programs which are affected by the sanctions.

"Venezuela has refineries in the United States that provide jobs for Americans. Venezuela has refineries that also develop social programs for Americans, so both the people of the United States and the people of Venezuela are being directly harmed," said Rodriguez.

Since 2005, Venezuelan-owned CITGO Petroleum Corporation in the US state of Texas, which operates thousands of gas stations, has supplied low-income US families with free fuel to heat their homes in winter, aiding more than 1.7 million US residents across 25 states, Rodriguez said.

Should commercial ties between the two countries be severed, Rodriguez said "we have other markets where we can sell our oil."

READ MORE: Trump slaps sanctions on Venezuela

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed his full support for a new initiative to negotiate a political solution to the situation in Venezuela.

In a statement, Guterres voiced encouragement for mediation ahead of a round of talks sccheduled for Wednesday in the Dominican Republic between Venezuela's government and the opposition.

"The secretary-general reiterates his firm conviction that the situation in Venezuela requires a political solution based on dialogue and compromise between the government and the opposition to ensure peaceful coexistence among all Venezuelans," said the statement.

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