US imposes new sanctions on Venezuelan officials over ‘election fraud’

Protests in support of opposition leader  Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia  who reportedly overwhelmingly won the election

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 16 senior Venezuelan officials allied to President Nicolas Maduro for preventing “a transparent electoral process” in the July 28 presidential election and for the “brutal crackdown on free expression” as protesters took to the streets after the poll. Those sanctioned included military, intelligence and government officials. 

The United States announced fresh sanctions Thursday on 16 officials aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim to reelection has been rejected by Washington and several Latin American nations.

The individuals sanctioned include senior figures in the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), the US Treasury Department said in a statement, adding that they “impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results.”

Others include military, intelligence and government officials that the Treasury said were “responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.”

“The Treasury Department is targeting key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election, as the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans call for change,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

Venezuela’s opposition insists its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia overwhelmingly won the July 28 vote, and has publicly released election data to back up its claim.

The CNE declared Maduro the victor, but has not released detailed voting results.

Facing an arrest warrant in Venezuela, Gonzalez Urrutia has since taken up asylum in Spain.

“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,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement.

AFP / FRANCE24