US Sanctions Venezuela Court, Elections Officials After Vote
(Bloomberg) -- The US announced sanctions Thursday on 16 officials tied to Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro over claims that they obstructed “free and fair” elections in the country.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Housing’s Worst Crisis in Decades Reverberates Through 2024 Race
For Tenants, AI-Powered Screening Can Be a New Barrier to Housing
NYC Transit Capital Upgrades Face $27 Billion Gap, DiNapoli Says
Among those sanctioned are the president of the country’s Supreme Court and a director of its electoral council. In addition, the State Department is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on officials backing Maduro.
“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,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will continue to use our tools to hold Maduro and his cronies accountable and support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people.”
The measures target key leaders the US says collaborated with Maduro to undermine the July 28 vote, a list that includes members of the electoral authority, Venezuela’s top court, the National Assembly and the intelligence and military intelligence police, known as Sebin and Dgcim.
The US hopes the latest round of sanctions can pressure Maduro and his allies to change tack before Jan. 10, when Venezuela’s new presidential term is set to start, according to senior Biden administration officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
The latest sanctions come a month and half after the electoral authority declared that Maduro was reelected for a third consecutive term, despite data published by the opposition that indicated he lost by a wide margin. Protests against Maduro’s claim of victory swept the capital Caracas and other cities in the days after the vote, with more than 2,400 Venezuelans arrested — including more than 100 minors — in the fiercest crackdown of his 11-year rule.
The US and others have questioned the legitimacy of the vote count, and some Maduro allies have called on the government to release tabulations. On Saturday, presidential candidate Edmundo González fled Venezuela and sought asylum in Spain after Maduro’s government ordered his arrest.
Among those sanctioned Thursday are Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodríguez and Judge Inocencio Figueroa; electoral council director Rosalba Gil and secretary general Antonio Meneses. Also included are prosecutor Dinorah Bustamante; National Assembly Vice President Pedro Infante and Asdrubal Brito, director of the military counterintelligence police.
Including the latest actions, Treasury has sanctioned more than 140 current or former Venezuelan officials, and imposed about 2,000 visa restrictions.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil responded by referring to the US as “hostile and bloodthirsty” in a statement on Thursday. Gil said the latest sanctions violated a deal it signed with the US in Qatar last year.
Maduro has recently lashed out at nations that have questioned the legitimacy of the July 28 presidential election or rejected his claim to victory. On Wednesday, Venezuela proposed to cut ties with Madrid after the Spanish congress voted to recognize González as president-elect of the Latin American nation.
(Updates with statement from Venezuela’s foreign minister in the 10th paragraph. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect date for the start of Venezuela’s presidential term.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
EV Leases Go as Low as $20 a Month to Help Dealers Clear Their Lots
College Football Players Learn an Ugly Truth About Getting Paid
China Can Avoid Japan’s Lost Decades If It Follows Korea’s Path
US Oil Boom Turns Kamala Harris Into an Unlikely Fracking Supporter
The Covid Pandemic Left an Extra 13 Million Americans Single
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
