U.S. sanctions 16 allies of Venezuela’s president over accusations of obstructing election
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. government on Thursday responded to Venezuela’s disputed July presidential election by imposing sanctions against 16 allies of President Nicolás Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses.
Those targeted by the Treasury Department include the head of the country’s high court, leaders of state security forces and prosecutors. The move came days after the departure into exile of Edmundo González Urrutia, the former diplomat who represented the main opposition parties and claimed to have won the July 28 presidential election by a wide margin.
Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor hours after polls closed; but unlike in previous presidential elections, they never released detailed vote tallies to back up their claim, arguing that the National Electoral Council’s website was hacked.
To the surprise of supporters and opponents, González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado shortly afterward announced not only that their campaign had obtained vote tallies from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election, but also that they had published them online to show the world that Maduro had lost.
Edmundo González’s departure is a blow to the opposition and foreign governments who consider him the legitimate winner of the presidential election.
Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s high court, stacked with ruling party loyalists, to audit the results. The court reaffirmed his victory.
Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which observed the election at the invitation of Maduro’s government, determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. The U.N. experts stopped short of validating the opposition’s claim to victory but said the faction’s voting records published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features.
“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,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement.
The State Department said it is placing new visa restrictions on Maduro allies who are accused of impeding the vote and repressing Venezuelans. The department did not name those individuals.
The potential effect of the individual sanctions and visa restrictions announced Thursday is unclear. Previously punished Maduro loyalists still play key roles in Venezuela’s government, including as vice president, attorney general and defense minister.
The Biden administration recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as presidential election winner, discrediting Nicolás Maduro’s claims.
A senior Biden administration official told reporters that the U.S. expects the latest announcement to “prompt deeper reflection” among the Maduro allies about how far they will go to help him in his effort to stay in power. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration.
The Treasury has penalized more than 140 current or former Venezuelan officials. The State Department has identified nearly 2,000 people as possibly facing visa restrictions over allegations of corruption, undermining democracy or violating Venezuelans’ human rights.
Venezuela’s government released a statement that characterized the latest set of sanctions as a “rude act that seeks to ingratiate itself with a political class that has resorted to fascist and violent practices to overthrow [Maduro], without success.”
A joint statement from more than 50 countries that was delivered Thursday at the United Nations by Panama’s foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, called on Venezuela’s National Electoral Council “to immediately publish” the tally sheets and “allow for the impartial verification of results by independent observers to promote credibility, legitimacy, and a transparent electoral process.”
Venezuelans across the world protested the country’s disputed presidential election, which the opposition says it won over the authoritarian Maduro.
The signatories, including the U.S., Spain, Chile and South Korea, also denounced the repression measures that Maduro’s government has been accused of carrying out after the election, including arbitrary detentions, intimidation tactics and killings.
“We express deep concern with the politically motivated arrest warrant by Venezuelan authorities” that was issued Sept. 3 for González and “has forced him into exile,” according to the statement.
González, in a statement posted on X, tried to reassure voters of his pledge to see a government transition in Venezuela.
“My commitment to the mandate I have received from the sovereign people of Venezuela is unwavering,” he wrote. “The battle that Maria Corina Machado and I have led remains unwavering.”
Garcia Cano writes for the Associated Press.
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