In the US, the Joe Biden administration has sanctioned 21 Venezuelan officials for their role in the suppression of protests following the disputed presidential election in July.
According to a senior representative of the administration, this group, which targeted innocent civilians for repression and retaliation, includes 15 leaders from the Bolivarian national guard, national police, members of the national intelligence service and the general directorate of military counterintelligence.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on the verdict that the US ‘is again mobilising to hold Nicolas Maduro and his representatives accountable for undermining the electoral process in Venezuela and repressing the Venezuelan people’.
The US announced sanctions against 180 current or former Venezuelan officials for ‘suppressing and intimidating the democratic opposition in a desperate and illegitimate attempt to cling to power’.
The State Department also announced that it was taking steps to impose visa restrictions on approximately 2,000 individuals for their role in undermining Venezuela’s electoral process or in acts of repression.
