The United States imposed new sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials on Friday and increased the reward for the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro, on the day of his investiture for a third term.
Friday’s sanctions are a new round of punitive measures by the outgoing government of President Joe Biden against the Maduro government in the wake of the July election, which both his party and the opposition claim to have won.
As Washington imposed the new sanctions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Friday’s inauguration “illegitimate,” stating in a statement that the United States “does not recognize Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela.”
Among the sanctioned officials are the recently appointed head of the PDVSA oil company, Héctor Obregón, and the Minister of Transportation, Ramón Velásquez.
Maduro, president since 2013, was declared the winner by both Venezuela’s electoral authority and the highest court, although detailed counts confirming his victory have not been published.
The opposition says it has the voting records that show the victory of its candidate Edmundo González. International election observers have said the vote was not transparent.
The US measure was coordinated with announcements by Great Britain and the European Union against 15 Venezuelan officials, including members of the National Electoral Council and the security forces. Canada also imposed new sanctions on Venezuela.
In a statement, the Canadian government He said the sanctions imposed “demonstrate a message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people. They also contribute to ongoing international efforts to defend human rights in Venezuela and maintain pressure on the Maduro regime.”
For his part, Bradley Smith, Acting Undersecretary of the United States Treasury, stated in a statement that “the United States, together with our like-minded partners, stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people’s vote for new leadership and rejects the fraudulent claim of victory of Ripe”.
Maduro and his government officials have always rejected sanctions from the United States and other countries, saying they are illegitimate measures that amount to an “economic war” designed to paralyze Venezuela.
They have applauded what they say is the country’s resilience despite the measures, although they have historically blamed some economic difficulties and shortages on sanctions.
“The outgoing government of the United States does not know how to get revenge on us,” said Maduro in his speech before the National Assembly, in an apparent reference to the sanctions but without specifically talking about the issue.
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