According to a White House statement issued on Monday, the new set of targeted sanctions excludes the Venezuelan people and any trade relations with the oil-rich nation and are instead specifically aimed at government officials the US accuses of violating human rights.
"Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of US financial systems," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in the statement.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro responded by saying the US measures were intended to topple his socialist government, Al Jazeera reported.
"President Barack Obama, representing the US imperialist elite, has personally decided to take on the task of defeating my government and intervening in Venezuela to control it," Maduro said in a national television address.
Venezuela's foreign ministry also recalled its top diplomat in the US for "immediate" consultations after the announcement.
The latest US action marks another downturn in relations between Washington and Caracas. Just last week Maduro announced measures to limit the number of US diplomats in Venezuela, reducing a staff of nearly 100 to just 17 individuals.