U.S. declares Venezuela a national security threat, sanctions top officials

The United States declared Venezuela a national security threat on Monday and ordered sanctions against seven officials from the oil-rich country in the worst bilateral diplomatic dispute since socialist President Nicolas Maduro took office in 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama signed and issued the executive order, which senior administration officials said did not target Venezuela’s energy sector or broader economy. But the move stokes tensions between Washington and Caracas just as U.S. relations with Cuba, a longtime U.S. foe in Latin America and key ally to Venezuela, are set to be normalized. Most of those targeted for US sanctions were accused of being involved with a 2014 crackdown on opposition protests that left more than 40 dead.

Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest

Venezuealan President Nicolas Maduro angrily denounced the sanctions as an attempt to topple his government. Declaring any country a threat to national security is the first step in starting a U.S. sanctions program. The same process has been followed with countries such as Iran and Syria, U.S. officials said. The White House said the order targeted people whose actions undermined democratic processes or institutions, had committed acts of violence or abuse of human rights, were involved in prohibiting or penalizing freedom of expression, or were government officials involved in public corruption.

President Barack Obama … has personally decided to take on the task of defeating my government and intervening in Venezuela to control it.

Venezuealan President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela Politics