MIAMI – AT&T said Tuesday it will immediately ditch Venezuela's pay TV market as U.S. sanctions prohibit its DirecTV platform from broadcasting channels that it is required to carry by the socialist administration of Nicolás Maduro. The Dallas-based company's closing of its Venezuela unit is effective immediately. AT&T joins a number of other U.S. companies — General Motors, Kellogg Co. and Kimberly-Clark — that have abandoned Venezuela due to shrinking sales, government threats and the risk of U.S. sanctions. DirecTV is also a major platform for the broadcast of state-run TV outlets criticized by the opposition as propaganda. AP Writer Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela.