US Hits Maduro’s Top Allies with Sanctions Over Brutal Post-Election Crackdown in Venezuela

The United States on Wednesday accused 21 more of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s friends of participating in some of the repression used by Venezuelan officials in response to the disputed July presidential poll, and placed sanctions on them. Among the security and cabinet-level individuals approved by the Department of the Treasury are the minister of Maduro’s Office of the President, the director of an intelligence agency, and the head of the country’s correctional agency. Along with the head of Venezuela’s supreme court, ministries, and prosecutors, they joined dozens of other Venezuelans who have been sanctioned.

The opposition nominee Edmundo González was acknowledged by the Biden administration this week as the president-elect of Venezuela. Despite declaring victory in the election, Maduro and his administration have not produced the vote totals to support their claim. Following the issuance of an arrest order in conjunction with an inquiry into the publication of vote tallies, González fled Venezuela for exile in Spain in September. Representing the major opposition groups, the former ambassador declared that he had won the presidential election by a significant margin.

In September, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against 16 allies of Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses. The effect of the individual sanctions and visa restrictions announced Wednesday is unclear. Previously punished Maduro loyalists still hold powerful in Venezuela’s government. The debate over a plan that would classify economic sanctions as a crime against humanity and permit imprisonment of anyone who shows support for the measures began Tuesday among Venezuelan MPs.