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The United States Treasury Department has applied sanctions on 16 high-ranking Venezuelan officials who support President Nicolas Maduro. This action was taken because they obstructed a fair electoral process during the presidential election on July 28 and suppressed free expression by using harsh methods against protesters following the election. The individuals targeted by the sanctions encompass military, intelligence, and government figures.
The Eastern Updates reports that the United States announced fresh sanctions Thursday on 16 officials aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim to reelection has been rejected by Washington and several Latin American nations.
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The US Treasury Department stated that the individuals sanctioned are high-ranking members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ). The department added that these individuals “obstructed a fair electoral process and the publication of precise election results.”
Others include military, intelligence and government officials that the Treasury said were “responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.”
“The Treasury Department is targeting key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election, as the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans call for change,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
Venezuela’s opposition insists its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia overwhelmingly won the July 28 vote, and has publicly released election data to back up its claim.
The CNE declared Maduro the victor, but has not released detailed voting results.
Facing an arrest warrant in Venezuela, Gonzalez Urrutia has since taken up asylum in Spain.
“Rather than respecting the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the ballot box, Maduro and his representatives have falsely claimed victory while repressing and intimidating the democratic opposition in an illegitimate attempt to cling to power by force,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement.
