Editing Citgo (section)

====2019 U.S. sanctions====
On January 28, 2019, the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. Government]] imposed sanctions on PDVSA, freezing its assets in the U.S., and barring any U.S. firms and citizens from doing business with it.<ref>{{cite press release|date=January 28, 2019|title=Treasury Sanctions Venezuela's State-Owned Oil Company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.|url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm594|publisher=[[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]]|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=January 29, 2019|title=US Sanctions Venezuela's State-owned Oil Company|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/us-imposes-sanctions-on-venezuelan-state-oil-firm-pdvsa/4762484.html|website=[[Voice of America|VoA News]]|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=DiChristopher|first=Tom|date=January 29, 2019|title=Treasury sanctions Venezuela state-owned oil firm in bid to transfer control to Maduro opposition|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/treasury-set-to-sanction-venezuela-state-owned-oil-firm-sen-rubio.html|website=[[CNBC]]|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref> In February, Citgo cut ties with the PdVSA, and halted payments to them, placing them in a "blocked account". However, the sanctions limited Citgo's ability to refinance debt. In March, at the behest of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]], 35 financial institutions secured a $1.2 billion loan to fund Citgo's daily operations and refinancing, allaying concerns about Citgo's ability to continue operating in the U.S.<ref name=TiesCutFormally2019/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Ahmann|first1=Tim|last2=McWilliams|first2=Gary|title=U.S. acts to keep Citgo operating in face of Venezuela sanctions|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-citgo/u-s-acts-to-keep-citgo-operating-in-face-of-venezuela-sanctions-idUSKCN1QV308|website=Reuters|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=March 29, 2019|title=An Embattled CITGO Secures Long-Term Financing|url=https://csnews.com/embattled-citgo-secures-long-term-financing|magazine=Convenience Store News|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Luck|first=Marissa|title=Citgo gets $1.2B loan amid concerns over Venezuela sanctions|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Citgo-gets-1-2B-loan-amid-concerns-over-13726273.php|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref>

On June 6, 2019, the U.S. Treasury expanded the sanctions, clarifying that exports of [[diluent]]s to Venezuela could be subject to sanctions.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rampton|first=Roberta|date=June 6, 2019|title=U.S. tightens Venezuela oil sanctions, indicates more actions to come|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-usa/u-s-tightens-venezuela-oil-sanctions-indicates-more-actions-to-come-idUSKCN1T731E|website=Reuters|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref>