Trump administration sanctions Maduro's 'narco-nephews' after Biden granted them clemency

Maduro brandishes sword and vows to resist US after tanker seizure amid tensions

Video shows the Venezuelan leader singing and holding Bolívar’s sword as he warns supporters to "stand like warriors." (Credit: Reuters and APTN)

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Thursday it is sanctioning three of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s wife's nephews, a Maduro-affiliated businessman, and six shipping companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector.

OFAC also identified six associated vessels that it claims have engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices, and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s alleged narco-terrorist regime.

"Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a statement. "These sanctions undo the Biden Administration’s failed attempt to make a deal with Maduro, enabling his dictatorial and brutal control at the expense of the Venezuelan and American people. Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes." 

OFAC officials said two of Maduro's wife's nephews, Efrain Antonio Campo Flores (Campo) and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas (Flores de Freitas), known as the "narco-nephews," were arrested in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2015, as they were finalizing a deal to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to the U.S.

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro's family has been targeted by the Trump administration amid ongoing disputes over drug trafficking. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)

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A year later, they were convicted on narco-trafficking charges, but were granted clemency in October 2022 by former President Joe Biden.

Campo and Flores de Freitas returned to Venezuela and, as of 2025, officials claim they have continued drug-trafficking activities. 

A third nephew designated by OFAC Thursday, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores (Malpica), was the former purported national treasurer of Venezuela and purported vice president of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA).

Nicolás Maduro condemned the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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He was designated in July 2017, but removed from OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) in 2022 to aid with negotiations for an ultimately failed deal pursued by the Biden administration to return democratic elections to Venezuela. 

Thanks to @POTUS' leadership, the U.S. is holding accountable Maduro's narco-nephews and @USTreasury is sanctioning them for their illicit activities that hurt Americans and destabilize our entire region," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement on X.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro brandishes a sword during an event at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 25. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Six shipping companies moving Venezuelan oil were also targeted, including: Myra Marine Limited; Arctic Voyager Incorporated; Poweroy Investment Limited; Ready Great Limited; Sino Marine Services Limited; and Full Happy Limited.

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They are accused of loading Venezuelan oil, with some allegedly transporting barrels to Asia and others manipulating their transmissions, so their locations are not known.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.