Venezuelan officials are sanctioned by the US for “election fraud.”
Allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were sanctioned and had visa ban implemented by the United States. In response, Venezuela called the sanctions by Washington an ‘act of aggression’.
On Thursday, the United States announced that it was putting sanctions on 16 of Nicolas Maduro’s allies in Venezuela.
It is a reaction to “widespread voter fraud” in the nation’s election, which resulted in Maduro’s reelection; this has been denounced by Washington and a number of European and Latin American countries.
The opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who is acknowledged by the United States and other nations as the victor of the July 28 presidential election, was compelled to escape to Spain when Maduro’s government issued an arrest warrant for him.
Caracas responded by calling the Washington-imposed sanctions a “crime of aggression” in a statement from its foreign ministry.
The administration of Nicolas Maduro declared, “Venezuela rejects, in the strongest terms, the new crime of aggression committed by the government of the United States of America against Venezuela.”
“[They are] trying to gain favor with a political class that has used violent and fascist methods in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Bolivarian democracy.”
The United States will “continue to promote accountability for those undermining democracy in Venezuela,” stated Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.
“In an illegitimate attempt to cling to power by force, Maduro and his representatives have falsely claimed victory while repressing and intimidating the democratic opposition,” Blinken said. “Rather than respecting the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the ballot box.”
