WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced sanctions against 21 Venezuelan officials over the wave of political repression following the country’s disputed July 28 election, which incumbent Nicolás Maduro claimed to win despite opposition vote-tracking showing otherwise.
“We are using our sanctions authorities to impose costs on 21 Maduro-aligned individuals for their myriad abuses against the Venezuelan people and attempts to steal the election,” a US official said on a White House-organized call.
“Our sanctions policy seeks to incentivize democratic actions in Venezuela.”
Most of Venezuela’s political opposition leaders are in hiding or facing criminal charges following the election, in which Maduro claimed to win another term with nearly 52% support, despite contradictory figures showing he may have lost by a more than two-to-one margin.
The US recognizes Edmundo González, who fled to Spain following the election, as the country’s president-elect.
Sanctions allow the US government to seize assets held outside of Venezuela and also serve to disconnect the individuals from the global financial system.
President Biden in November 2022 and again in October 2023 eased oil sanctions on Venezuela — as high gas prices threatened his re-election campaign, which he later abandoned.
Those sanctions had been enacted under former President Donald Trump, who retakes office Jan. 20.
Biden’s administration reimposed oil sanctions in April as it became clear Maduro, 62, was not taking steps toward allowing for a free election.
Maduro, who already faced US sanctions against himself, has held office since the 2013 death of Hugo Chávez, who led a socialist overhaul of the country after assuming office in 1999, ultimately sparking an economic collapse and the mass-emigration of citizens.
