Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC. Pompeo announced new US sanctions against Iran on Wednesday [File: Nicholas Kamm/AP Photo]
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who had delivered oil to Venezuela, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed the Trump administration’s backing for Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaido.
Speaking at a news conference at the US State Department, Pompeo said the ships delivered approximately 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related components, and warned any mariners against doing business with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose removal Washington wants.
“As a result of today’s sanctions, these captains’ assets will be blocked. Their careers and prospects will suffer from this designation,” Pompeo said in a statement later. “Mariners who are considering work with Iran and Venezuela should understand that aiding these oppressive regimes is simply not worth the risk.”
The Trump administration, which is seeking to block Iran’s energy trade and to bring down Maduro, has threatened reprisals and warned ports, shipping companies and insurers against facilitating the tankers.
The OPEC member’s exports are hovering near their lowest levels in more than 70 years and the economy has collapsed, but Maduro has held on – to the frustration of the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Iran has since April sent five tankers totalling about 1.5 million barrels to the government of fuel-starved Venezuela, though the shipments have done little to alleviate hours-long lines at gas stations.
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
In October 2011 Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi published my book "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống).
In December 2013 Phu Nu Publishing House published my book "10 Core Values for Success".
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
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![Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC. Pompeo announced new US sanctions against Iran on Wednesday [File: Nicholas Kamm/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2020/4/23/10643c13caab4a4cab319e7726067be0_18.jpg "US slaps new sanctions on Iranians for Venezuela trade")
