US sanctions 21 Venezuelan officials for electoral fraud and repression of opponents
Joe Biden’s administration is trying to increase pressure on the Chavista regime with less than two months before Donald Trump returns to the White House
The United States has imposed a new round of sanctions against 21 senior officials of Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela for their role in “electoral fraud” in the July 28 elections and the subsequent repression of popular and opposition protests, the Treasury Department, the State Department, and the White House announced on Wednesday.
“The United States has taken steps to increase pressure against Maduro and his representatives responsible for the electoral fraud that occurred on July 28 and after, and for the brutal repression we have seen in recent months,” said a senior government official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. Those sanctioned include senior officials of Venezuela’s intelligence and counterintelligence services, as well as representatives of the Chavista government. “It’s not just about holding Nicolás Maduro accountable,” the official added. “Officials who act illegally to prop up their regime, relying on repressive tactics, will also find themselves in the crosshairs of these sanctions.”
According to the Treasury Department, the Chavista government officials targeted by the U.S. include Freddy Alfred Nazaret Nanez Contreras, Minister of Communication and former president of Venezuelan national television; Aníbal Eduardo Coronado Millán, Minister of the Presidential Office; and William Alfredo Castillo Bolle, Vice Minister of Anti-Blockade Policies in the Ministry of Economy. Also on the list are the director of the National Intelligence Service, Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and the head of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, Javier José Marcana Tabata.
Their names join those of around 180 regime officials and 100 Venezuelan entities already sanctioned by the United States. Washington had announced sanctions in September against 16 other allies of Maduro, whom it had accused of obstructing the vote and violating human rights.
“The repressive actions by Maduro and his representatives in the wake of Venezuela’s presidential election represent a desperate attempt to silence the voices of its citizens,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith. “The United States continues to target those who use violence and intimidation to undermine democratic governance and the legitimate exercise of free expression.”
President Joe Biden’s administration has just 54 days left in power before handing over to president-elect Donald Trump and is seeking to ramp up pressure on the Maduro regime, although it is unclear what effect the new sanctions will have. Washington already announced last week, through the State Department, that it recognized opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as Venezuela’s president-elect, having declared him the winner of the elections on August 1.
González Urrutia is in exile in Spain after being persecuted by Chavismo for declaring himself the winner of the elections and denouncing the fraud with which Maduro claimed victory in order to remain in power. The former diplomat, recognized as the electoral winner by the United States, the European Union, (which has not taken the step of declaring him president-elect) and Latin American countries, has assured that he plans to return to his country and take office on January 10, 2025 when the presidential inauguration is scheduled in Venezuela. He has not revealed how he plans to do so. In the conversation with journalists on Wednesday, the aforementioned senior U.S. official and others present limited themselves to specifying: “We have not received a request for assistance” to help the opposition leader return. They also assured that Washington did not intervene in González Urrutia’s departure from the country.
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