Venezuela hit with sanctions
US blacklists eight members of the Supreme Court, accusing them of abusing power and damaging their nation’s democratic fabric.
BOGOTA: The United States slapped new sanctions on eight members of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, accusing them of abusing power and damaging their nation’s democratic fabric as the Trump administration raises concerns that socialist President Nicolas Maduro is moving toward one-party, authoritarian rule.
Those blacklisted by the Treasury Department include Maikel Moreno, the president of the government-packed Supreme Court, as well as all seven justices who signed a ruling in March stripping the opposition-controlled Congress of its last remaining powers.
The ruling was later partially reversed amid international criticism, but it sparked a protest movement that has continued for nearly two months and on Thursday claimed another victim, bringing the death toll to 45.
“The Venezuelan people are suffering from a collapsing economy brought about by their government’s mismanagement and corruption. Members of the country’s Supreme Court of Justice have exacerbated the situa- tion by consistently interfering with the legislative branch’s authority,” US Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said on Thursday.
“By imposing these targeted sanctions, the United States is supporting the Venezuelan people in their efforts to protect and advance democratic governance in their country.”
The action marked the second time the Trump administration had stripped highlevel Venezuelan officials of their US assets and banned Americans from any business dealings with them.
In February, the United States ordered sanctions against Vice-President Tareck El-Aissami, accusing him of playing a major role in international drug trafficking.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump expressed dismay about Venezuela’s troubles, asking aloud how a nation sitting atop the world’s largest oil reserves could be stricken by so much poverty and unrest.
“You sort of have to wonder: Why is that happening? How is that possible? Hopefully that will change and they can use those assets for the good. Because right now what’s happening is really a disgrace to humanity,” Trump said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez took to Twitter on Thursday to call the US sanctions “outrageous and unacceptable”.
She said the executive order was one more example of the United States’ attempts to interfere with and destabilise Maduro’s government and that the president strongly backed the Supreme Court magistrates, who were “victims of US imperial power”.
The new sanctions come as Maduro faces increasing pressure at home and abroad to hold elections. On Thursday, several thousand demonstrators once again collapsed Caracas and other cities in protests that ended in clashes with security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
In the western city of Maracaibo, a 25-yearold was killed when he was crushed by a truck during a protest, the chief prosecutor’s office said.