THE UNITED STATES has hit Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with direct sanctions over last weekend’s disputed and deadly election in the South American country, calling him a “dictator” while the leader refused to heed what he slammed as “imperial orders”.
The measures are unusual in that they target a sitting head of state, but their reach is mostly symbolic, freezing any US assets Maduro might have and banning people under US jurisdiction from dealing with him.
“Yesterday’s illegitimate elections confirm that Maduro is a dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters.
Maduro lashed out at the move, saying it smacked of American imperialism.
“I will not obey imperial orders,” he said.
“I am so proud, Mr Donald Trump,” Maduro joked in English, before switching to slang in Spanish: “Go for it, already. I am being targeted with sanctions because I do not obey the orders of foreign governments.”
Colombia, Mexico, Peru and other nations joined the US in saying they did not recognise the results of Sunday’s election, which appointed a new “Constituent Assembly” superseding Venezuela’s legislative body, the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Maduro’s own attorney general, Luisa Ortega – who broke with him months ago over his policies – also said she would not acknowledge the body, calling it part of the president’s “dictatorial ambition.”
Brink of disaster
The European Union expressed “preoccupation for the fate of democracy in Venezuela” and said it, too, doubted it could accept the results.
And Britain’s Foreign Minister Boris Johnson warned that Venezuela “stands on the brink of disaster”.
“Nicolas Maduro’s government must stop before it is too late,” he said.
However, old allies Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia stood by Maduro, who shrugged off mass protests and a previous round of US sanctions on some of his officials to see through the election.
Cuba, Venezuela’s closest ally, meanwhile said that “a well-organised international operation was under way, led from Washington, with the support of the OAS chief, aimed at silencing the voice of the Venezuelan people, and forcing them into submission with attacks and economic sanctions”.
More protests
The National Electoral Council claimed more than 40% of Venezuela’s 20 million voters cast ballots on Sunday.
According to the opposition, voter turnout was closer to 12%, a figure more aligned with the lack of lines at many polling stations.
Surveys by polling firm Datanalisis showed more than 70% of Venezuelans oppose the new assembly.
Further protests were called for yesterday and beyond, stoking fears that the death toll of 120 people killed in four months of protests against Maduro could rise further.
“I feel awful, frustrated with this fraud,” said Caracas resident Giancarlo Fernandez (35).
Demonstrators defied a ban on protests set by Maduro that threatened up to 10 years in prison for violators.
Ten people died in violence surrounding the election, which saw security forces fire tear gas and, in some cases, live ammunition to put down protests. Among those killed were two teens and a Venezuelan soldier.
Boycotted by the opposition, and voted for largely by state employees fearful for their jobs, the Constituent Assembly was made up solely of members of Maduro’s ruling Socialist Party.
Tasked with writing a new constitution, it has far-reaching powers – including the right to dissolve the National Assembly and change laws.
The assembly is due to be officially installed tomorrow.
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