MEXICO CITY, March 10 -- A golden therapy proving effective for most of the time is being picked up again, right before the United States is to convene its partners in Latin America to slap new sanctions on Venezuela.

The sanctions, ordered by U.S. President Barrack Obama on Monday, a few weeks before the summit of the Organization of American States (OAS) to be held in Panama on April 10-11, will impose a visa ban and a freeze on property and bank accounts possibly held in the United States by seven Venezuelan officials on charges of human rights abuses and corruption.

"We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government's efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents," the White House said in explanation of the executive order.

The sticks wielded by the U.S. came on the heels of Washington's rapprochement with Cuba last week.

Obama's Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro reacted fiercely, citing the U.S. punitive measures as a "colossal mistake" and "imperialist arrogance.

Maduro is trying to rally more power from the Venezuelan National Assembly to forestall any attempt to topple his government.

Any containment is destined to backfire, though Washington purported that the sanctions were not targeting Venezuela's energy sector or broader economy.

The United States is Venezuela's top trading partner and the latter remained its fourth largest supplier of crude oil at an average of 733,000 barrels a day.

Danger is obvious as the lifeline is at stake.

The climax is yet to come and remain misty, as the two leaders keep toughening their stances and almost have nowhere to retreat in this political gamble.

Cuba is on track to restore its diplomatic relations with the United States after a half-century rupture.

The Cubans were cast by Western media as upbeat, for they expected to cash in on the normalization to sell more cigars and rum to improve their living conditions.

In contrast, the Cuban government has a long-term thought, demanding that as a preliminary step, Havana be removed from the U.S. list of countries alleged to be sponsors of terrorism. It also called for lifting a half-century-old trade embargo against the island country and the returning of the U.S. base at Guantanamo.

"In our view, it's not necessary to put it all in one package because if, for example, in a few weeks we receive some satisfactory notification on the matter of Cuba's removal from the terrorist list, I think we'll be ready to begin talking about how to formalize the re-establishing of relations," said Josefina Vidal, head of the U.S. division at the Cuban foreign ministry in an interview published in local media on Sunday.

The process soon gained speed, as Obama on Monday said that he hoped the United States could open an embassy in Cuba by the time of the OAS summit.

Yes, the summit is the pivot, where the president thinks that he can put Latin America, which Washington has habitually called its "backyard", in a better shape to serve his count-down administration or even gain momentum in a final-phase effort to bolster his party out of the mire of his labored governance.

The United States expected to reap benefits and beef up its bellwether status through punishing the unyielding while reconciling with a long-time foe.

However, Cuba threw its weight behind Venezuela in this very event as retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Monday lauded Maduro as "brave."

With high stakes and hard-boiled players, there is a certain chance for the story to go astray this time. Whether the "carrots and sticks" approach can work or not, only time will tell.