Here's how an Italian restaurant owner was mistakenly sanctioned by Trump administration

A restaurant owner in Italy who was mistakenly put on the US sanction blacklist under the Donald Trump administration had described the last couple of months as a “nightmare”. As per The Guardian, Alessandro Bazzoni,  a resident of Verona, had tough penalties imposed on his flagship pizzeria AMG S.A.S. Di Alessandro Bazzoni & C,  in the last days of Trump’s Presidency. While it is not the first time that American officials had sanctioned the wrong party, it turned out to be grave for Bazzoni, whose business was already marred by the COVD-19 pandemic. 

Donald Trump, during his time in the Oval Office, has imposed a tough embargo and sanctions to coerce Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. As a part of its crackdown in 2019, Trump’s government imposed hard-hitting sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Taking it a step ahead, Trump, on his last day in office sanctioned a network of oil firms and individuals tied to PDVSA which mistakenly included Bazzoni. 

Another Gaffe

Additionally, the US Treasury Department also blacklisted SeriGraphicLab, a graphic design company owned by another man with the same name- Alessandro Bazzoni. Although when contacted by The Guardian, the Sardinia based entrepreneur confirmed that his business was highly hit, he refrained from revealing further details. 

Speaking to Italian daily Corriere della Sera later, the restaurant owner said that he solved the problem himself, “by entering my data on a special digital platform of the US government”. Additionally, he also confirmed that he had also managed to get a US visa until 2023. In an updated list on the US treasury’s website dated 31 March, both Italian companies were deleted from the blacklist. 

Meanwhile, Facebook has stricken its tone against the Venezuelan President. Earlier this week, Facebook froze the page of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro for 30 days after the latter allegedly spread misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine. Reacting to the development, the Venezuelan government on Sunday accused Facebook Inc of "digital totalitarianism."

The social media giant has also reportedly taken down a video in which Maduro was seen promoting Carvativir— that is a Venezuelan-made remedy for Covid-19, but still lacks evidence that can prove the drug can cure the infected. In clarification over freezing Maduro's page, Facebook cited the guidelines from the World Health Organisation that clearly states "there is currently no medication that can cure the virus."

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