U.S. sanctions 8 more Venezuelans tied to Maduro government

From wire services

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Trump administration’s decision on Wednesday to slap sanctions on eight membersof Venezuela’s all-powerful constitutional assembly brings to 30 the number of government loyalists targeted for human rights abuses and violations of democratic norms since antigovernment protests began in April.

But even as the list of targeted individuals grows longer, promised economic sanctions have yet to materialize amid an outcry by the U.S. oil industry that a potential ban on petroleum imports from Venezuela — the third-largest supplier to the U.S. — would hurt U.S. jobs anddrive up gas costs.

The sanctions announced Wednesday focused on current or former Venezuelan government officials accused by the U.S. of supporting President Nicolas Maduro’s creation of a special assembly charged with rewriting Venezuela’s constitution — a move the U.S. says is an attempt by Mr. Maduro to shore up his grip on power.

Since its election last month, the 545-member assembly has declared itself superior to all other government institutions and ousted Venezuela’s chief prosecutor, avocal critic of Mr. Maduro.

The U.S. Treasury Department took the unusual step of sanctioning Mr. Maduro himself last month, freezing any assets he may have in the U.S. and blocking Americans from doing business with him.

The newest additions include Adan Chavez, the older brother of the late president Hugo Chavez, and a national guard colonel lionized by the government.

Soccer star sanctioned

Legendary Mexican soccer player Rafael Marquez Alvarez and a well-known band leader are among 22 people sanctioned for alleged ties to a drug trafficking organization, the U.S. Treasury Departmentannounced Wednesday.

The sanctions are the result of a multiyear investigation of the drug trafficking organization allegedly headed by Raul Flores Hernandez, the department said in a statement.

It is the single largest such designation of a drug trafficking organization ever by its Office of Foreign Assets Control,the statement said.

2 Cubans expelled

The U.S. government expelled two Cuban diplomats in May, after Americans working at the U.S. Embassy in Havana suffered unexplained physical ailments, the State Department said Thursday.

U.S. officials, who weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the workers’ severe hearing loss to a covertsonic device.

Russian surveillance

A Russian surveillance plane soared through secure airspace over Washington on Wednesday, presumably collecting intelligence as it traveled near the Pentagon, the Capitol and other government buildings, two U.S. officials said.