The United States warned that there would be retaliation for those who buy gold or crude oil in Venezuela

John Bolton, National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, warned Wednesday that the United States was ready to act against those who do business with gold or oil in Venezuela two days after imposing sanctions on the national oil company PDVSA.

"My advice to bankers, brokers, middlemen, intermediaries and other companies: do not trade gold, oil or other Venezuelan raw materials, because the mafia of (Nicolás) Maduro is stealing the Venezuelan people. "Bolton wrote on his official Twitter account.

Bolton's warning comes after the president of Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), Manuel Quevedo, announced that the state oil company would modify its operations and evaluate the declaration of "force majeure" before the sanctions imposed by the United States.

With oil, the Trump government believes that the gold trade is one of Maduro's main supporters to stay in power.and the Treasury, in particular, chose Turkey last year for its purchase of several tons of this precious metal.

In November, President Trump's government had already announced sanctions against US citizens and companies that were carrying out "fraudulent and corrupt transactions" with Venezuelan gold, without, however, imposing any restrictions on its commercial activities with this sector.