The US Treasury has sanctioned Venezuelan aerospace firm Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA) and its chairman, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, alleging they assembled Iranian-designed drones from Qods Aviation Industries. The designations freeze US assets and bar Americans from transacting with the targets. Treasury officials say Tehran and Caracas have coordinated drone transfers since 2006, and the move comes amid heightened tensions and recent US actions aimed at Venezuela and Iran-linked targets.
US Sanctions Venezuelan Aerospace Firm And Chairman Over Alleged Iranian Drone Assembly
The Mohajer 10 drone is unveiled by Iran in Tehran on August 22, 2023 [Handout/Iran's Presidency/WANA via Reuters]
Washington, D.C. — The US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday announced sanctions targeting Venezuelan aerospace company Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA) and its chairman, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, accusing the firm of assembling unmanned aerial vehicles supplied by Iran's Qods Aviation Industries.
The Treasury said EANSA "maintains and oversees the assembly of" drones linked to Qods — an Iranian entity already subject to US sanctions — and that Gonzalez coordinated "with members and representatives of the Venezuelan and Iranian armed forces on the production of UAVs in Venezuela." The designation freezes any assets the targets hold in the United States and generally prohibits US persons from conducting financial transactions with them.
"Treasury is holding Iran and Venezuela accountable for their aggressive and reckless proliferation of deadly weapons around the world," said Treasury official John Hurley in a statement. "We will continue to take swift action to deprive those who enable Iran's military‑industrial complex access to the US financial system."
The Treasury also announced separate sanctions on several Iranian individuals it accused of ties to Iran's arms industry. In its statement, the US alleged that Tehran and Caracas have coordinated drone transfers to Venezuela since 2006.
Context And Regional Tensions
The move comes amid heightened rhetoric and reported operations involving the United States, Iran and Venezuela. US officials have issued warnings about Iran's missile and nuclear ambitions, while the administration has also carried out interdiction operations it says target drug trafficking and illicit shipments linked to Venezuela.
Recently, US forces seized at least two oil tankers off Venezuela's coast after an announced naval blockade, and the US president said American forces had struck a dock allegedly used to load drug boats; details of that incident remain limited. Venezuelan authorities called US measures "piracy" and accused Washington of seeking to destabilize President Nicolas Maduro's government.
What This Means
Sanctions on EANSA and its chairman are intended to cut them off from the US financial system and to signal broader US scrutiny of Iran's proliferation networks. The designations underscore Washington's stated goal of disrupting the flow of military technology and equipment that it believes could threaten regional stability.
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