U.S. announces new punishment
PALM BEACH, FLA.» The Trump administration increased sanctions on Venezuela on Friday in response to the kidnapping of a top aide for a leader the U.S wants to see replace the embattled — but not yet ousted — President Nicolas Maduro.
The Treasury Department announcement came while President Donald Trump met with leaders from five nations in the Caribbean that generally support the U.S. call for an end to Maduro’s rule. Trump hosted them at his Mar-aLago club in South Florida and pledged U.S. investment in their countries.
The new sanctions, issued in response to the kidnapping, specifically target Venezuela’s national development bank, BANDES, and four additional subsidiaries that BANDES owns or controls.
“The regime’s continued use of kidnapping, torture and murder of Venezuelan citizens will not be tolerated by the U.S. or the international coalition” that is united behind Juan Guaido, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. He was referring to the opposition leader recognized by more than 50 countries as the legitimate interim leader following a flawed ballot that resulted in Maduro’s reelection.
Forces affiliated with the Maduro government broke into the homes of officials backing Guaido and threatened them this week with their lives. Guaido’s chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, was kidnapped. In an op-ed published Friday in The Miami Herald, Vice President Mike Pence said the kid-
Sanctions target Iranian scientists, technicians and companies affiliated with nuclear program.
The Trump administration hit Iran with new sanctions Friday while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was denouncing Iran’s growing influence on a visit to Lebanon.
The Treasury Department said the sanctions target 31 Iranian scientists, technicians and companies affiliated with Iran’s Organization for Defense Innovation and Research, which had been at the forefront of the country’s former nuclear weapons program. Officials said those targeted continue to work in Iran’s defense sector and form a core of experts who could reconstitute that program. Fourteen people, including the head of the organization, and 17 subsidiary operations are covered by the sanctions.
The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with them. But officials say the move will also make those targeted “radioactive internationally” by making people of any nationality who do business with them subject to U.S. penalties under so-called secondary sanctions.
U.S. secondary sanctions apply to foreign businesses and individuals and can include fines, loss of presence in the American economy, asset freezes and travel bans. Officials said the threat of such sanctions will limit significantly the ability of those designated to travel outside of Iran, participate in research conferences or be hired for other jobs. napping was an “egregious violation of the rule of law” and was only the latest example of Maduro’s “brutality and despotism.”
“We’re not bluffing when we told Maduro not to do stuff like this (the kidnapping),” John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, told Univision News in an interview aired Friday.
The U.S. already sanctioned scores of top Venezuelan officials and has blocked U.S. banks from doing business with that country, imposing a financial stranglehold on the cash-strapped nation. The sanctions announced Friday also came as members of Congress from both parties condemned Marrero’s arrest.
“The international community is closely watching Maduro’s actions and will respond accordingly to any that threaten the safety of the opposition and Interim President Juan Guaido,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.
Trump hosted the leaders of Jamaica, Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic and St. Lucia to show his support for Caribbean countries that back democratic transition in Venezuela. The five have either denounced Maduro or joined more than 50 countries in recognizing Guaido as the rightful interim leader of the nation.