UPDATE 1-U.S. preparing to add Venezuela to terrorism sponsors list -source

The Trump administration has levied several rounds of sanctions against Maduro's Socialist-led government since 2017, accusing it of undermining democracy.

The United States is preparing to add Venezuela to its list of state sponsors of terrorism but no final decision has been made, a person familiar with the deliberations said on Monday.

Adding Venezuela to the list could limit U.S. assistance and impose financial restrictions in a country already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

Discussions on the issue have moved forward in recent days with strong lobbying from Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has long pressed the administration to take a tougher stand against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the source said.

The Trump administration has levied several rounds of sanctions against Maduro's Socialist-led government since 2017, accusing it of undermining democracy.

A time frame for a decision on whether to add Venezuela to the list had not yet been determined, the source said.

The four countries currently on the list - North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria - have been found to "have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism."

The Washington Post, which first reported that the Trump administration was considering the designation, said the U.S. State Department had been asking for feedback on the proposed move from various agencies in recent days.

A State Department spokesperson said it "consistently and on an ongoing basis reviews available information and intelligence, from many sources, on possible state-level involvement in terrorism, evaluating all credible, verified, and corroborated information in its entirety."

The White House declined to comment.