Caracas, Venezuela.– The United States is laying the groundwork for new sanctions against Venezuelan government officials in response to the disputed re-election of Nicolás Maduro in July.
The Treasury Department is close to announcing 15 individual sanctions against officials affiliated with Maduro who allegedly “obstructed the holding of free and fair presidential elections,” according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
In addition, the State Department plans to impose visa restrictions on 34 family members of government officials, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The measures target key leaders the U.S. says collaborated with Maduro to undermine the July 28 election, a list that includes members of the electoral authority, Venezuela’s top court, the National Assembly and the intelligence police and military intelligence services, known as SEBIN and DGCIM. The plans could be announced as early as this week and are subject to change before they are finalized.
The latest wave of sanctions comes a month after the electoral authority declared that Maduro had been re-elected for a third consecutive term, despite electoral data published by the opposition suggesting he had lost by a wide margin.
Protests against Maduro’s declaration of victory swept through the capital, Caracas, and other cities in the days after the vote, and more than 2,400 Venezuelans were arrested, including more than 100 minors, in the fiercest crackdown of his 11-year rule. The U.S. and other countries have questioned the legitimacy of the vote count, and some Maduro allies have called on the government to release vote tabulations. On Monday, Maduro’s government ordered the arrest of presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who the U.S. and others say has won the vote. A Treasury Department press officer declined to comment, and a representative for Venezuela’s government did not respond to requests for comment. A State Department official said the agency does not provide advance notice of sanctions.
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