The U.S. government today announced a series of sanctions on the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), with the aim of restricting its access to dollars and limiting its financial operations. However, the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, said that credit and debit card transactions in Venezuela will continue to be carried out as normal. The sanctions, which are already in force, consist of freezing the assets of the BCV under U.S. jurisdiction. Nicolás Maduro’s administration has yet to comment on the matter.

Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton, said the measures aim to weaken the BCV, which “has been crucial in keeping Maduro in power. Meanwhile, Mnuchin stated that the U.S. government is committed to helping the Venezuelan people.

These measures add to the current visa restrictions and freezing of assets of Venezuelan officials, such as the Vice President of the Republic, Delcy Rodriguez, and trade sanctions against the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), one of the country’s main sources of income.