The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 21 Venezuelan officials linked to Nicolas Maduro for their involvement in post -election repression in Venezuela.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Finance.
Officials have been sanctioned for supporting and following Maduroʼs orders to crack down on civil society that opposed his announcement as the new president. Among them are high-ranking officials of the National Guard, the police, intelligence and the Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence.
In the US, it is believed that after the elections, the Venezuelan security forces arbitrarily and en masse arrested supporters of the democratic opposition, brutally suppressed protests and denied people the right to peaceful assembly. This included issuing an arrest warrant for President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez, which forced him to leave the country.
The US State Department is also working to impose new visa restrictions on 9 931 Maduro supporters who have undermined Venezuelaʼs electoral process and/or are responsible for repression. Of the total, nearly 2 000 people have so far been identified as subject to visa restrictions for their role in undermining democracy, engaging in significant corruption or human rights abuses in Venezuela.
Sanctions against Venezuela
The US imposed severe sanctions on Venezuela after the re-election of Maduro in 2018. The US and other Western countries did not recognize the election results. Since 2019, a ban on Venezuelaʼs access to the US financial markets has been added to the oil restrictions.
In October 2023, the US eased sanctions after the Maduro government and the opposition agreed to hold elections in 2024, but they were reinstated in April 2024.
In July, new elections were held in Venezuela, where Maduro was declared the winner. The opposition did not agree, mass protests broke out in the country. President Maduroʼs government has detained more than 2,400 people since the election, creating what the UN has described as a "climate of fear". The USA proposed to hold re-elections in the country, but the Supreme Court of Venezuela recognized Maduro as the elected president, but the government did not publish evidence of victory. The European Union did not recognize Maduro as the winner without seeing the results of the vote. The US said there was "convincing" evidence of his defeat.
Washington later confiscated Maduroʼs plane — it was bought in violation of sanctions. In response, President Maduroʼs government accused the US of "piracy" and "illegal imposition of its will" around the world.
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