Can US sanctions on Venezuela work?

The US Treasury Department has designated not just Venezuela‘s vital oil industry but its entire banking sector also as the target of sanctions, making it almost untouchable for companies and banks that do business with the United States.

But in the last three months, President Nicolas Maduro‘s government has been busy finding ways to circumvent the US sanctions.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza is travelling across the globe, closing economic cooperation deals with countries like Turkey, Syria and South Africa, out of the reach of US sanctions. Not to mention the military and oil industry deals with Russia.

Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman reports from Puerto Cabello, in northern Venezuela.