By Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga
PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's intelligence police and the National Guard threatened on Thursday to board a tanker docked at state-run PDVSA's Cardon port to pressure the vessel's crew to discharge diesel sold by U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, four sources said.
Venezuela's fuel inventories have been drained this week since the United States imposed new sanctions on PDVSA, making it difficult for customers to pay for Venezuelan crude exports and be paid to deliver imports needed for the country's domestic market.
One of the sources said the captain told PDVSA he had received orders from the supplying company to stop discharging the cargo. PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PDVSA board member and union leader Wills Rangel on Wednesday said the firm would find a way to pay for fuel cargoes. But he did not elaborate on how PDVSA will convince suppliers and shipping firms to discharge shipments on PDVSA's terms.
With vessels stuck at the ports, lines at gasoline stations for have started forming in several Venezuelan regions as the sanctions and long-standing refining problems have raised fears among drivers of a looming shortage.
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The Marshall-Islands-flagged tanker Mambo, which arrived in Venezuelan waters on Jan. 25 before sanctions were issued, finished unloading a first portion of diesel at Puerto la Cruz refinery's dock earlier this week, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
But when it started to discharge a second portion at Cardon, the process was suspended, according to the sources. The Mambo was originally loaded with 300,000 barrels of diesel bought by Citgo from a U.S. supplier, they added.
U.S. sanctions on PDVSA prohibit its subsidiaries in the United States from engaging in financial or commercial relationships with the parent company, a moved aimed to block President Nicolas Maduro's government from continue receiving oil income from the United States.
The United States, many Latin American countries and the European Parliament have in recent days recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as president after Maduro's term expired in early January.
A second tanker carrying imported heavy naphtha for diluting Venezuela's extra heavy oil, the SCF Prime, was also ordered this week to suspend discharge at the supplier's request while docked at PDVSA's Jose port, two of the sources said.
The issue is currently being managed by PDVSA and the provider, India's Reliance, which typically ships fuel to Venezuela from its U.S. unit.
(Reporting by Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Dan Grebler)
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