The United States announced new sanctions on Friday against several family members and associates of Nicolás Maduro, as part of its efforts to dismantle what it described as a “narcocorruption” network sustaining Chavismo.
The measure, released through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), specifically targets immediate family of Carlos Erik Malpica Flores — Cilia Flores’ nephew — who was already sanctioned on December 11. It also includes individuals close to Panamanian businessman Ramón Carretero Napolitano, both linked to financial operations with Maduro’s regime. Join the club now! Subscribe to Venezuela’s most important newsletter.
Among Malpica’s family members are his mother (and Cilia Flores’ sister), Eloisa Flores de Malpica; his father, Carlos Evelio Malpica Torrealba; and his sister, Iriamni Malpica Flores.
Also included are his wife, Damaris del Carmen Hurtado Pérez, and their adult daughter, Erica Patricia Malpica Hurtado.
In total, the U.S. sanctioned seven individuals, accusing them of being responsible or accomplices in “corrupt transactions” within the Chavismo framework or related public programs or projects, as stated by the OFAC in a release.
This measure prohibits individuals or companies in the U.S. from conducting transactions with the sanctioned persons, while freezing any assets or properties they may hold in the U.S.
The announcement came just over a week after Washington sanctioned three of Maduro’s nephews, whom it accuses of having links to drug trafficking.
Besides Erik Malpica Flores, the Treasury included Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas in the sanctions list, all related to Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores.
Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas, known as the “narcosobrinus,” were arrested in Haiti in 2015 for drug trafficking and were convicted in the United States in 2016.
The previous Biden Administration pardoned them in October 2022 as part of a swap with Nicolás Maduro’s regime, after which they returned to Venezuela, from where they reportedly resumed drug-trafficking activities in 2025.
They are part of a series of sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration, which also affects Venezuela’s oil sector, including one businessman and six shipping companies, and blocking six vessels.
Washington has stepped up its actions this week against Chavismo, labeling it a “narcodictatorship.” On Tuesday, Trump ordered the entry and exit of all U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers from Venezuela, just a week after seizing a ship loaded with crude oil near Venezuelan coasts.
This decision comes alongside the growing military presence of the U.S. in the Caribbean, including the bombing of over 30 alleged narco-boats departing from Venezuela or Colombia, which have resulted in more than 100 casualties.