US Sanctions Senior Venezuela Officials Over Electoral Fraud

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ADDS Venezuela reax

The United States announced fresh sanctions Thursday on 16 officials aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim to reelection has been rejected by Washington as well as several European and Latin American nations.

Venezuela's foreign ministry angrily hit back, accusing Washington of a "crime of aggression" and rejecting the sanctions "in the strongest terms."

The individuals sanctioned include senior figures in the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), the US Treasury Department said, adding that they "impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results."

Others include military, intelligence and government officials that the Treasury said were "responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship."

"The Treasury Department is targeting key officials involved in Maduro's fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election, as the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans call for change," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

Venezuela's opposition insists its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia overwhelmingly won the July 28 vote, and has publicly released election data to back up its claim.

The CNE declared Maduro the victor, but has not released detailed voting results.

Facing an arrest warrant in Venezuela, Gonzalez Urrutia has since taken up asylum in Spain.

"Rather than respecting the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the ballot box, Maduro and his representatives have falsely claimed victory while repressing and intimidating the democratic opposition in an illegitimate attempt to cling to power by force," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement.

"The United States will continue to promote accountability for those undermining democracy in Venezuela," he added.

A senior US official told reporters on a call that "we believe that there is clear evidence that Mr Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in this election, and therefore that fact needs to be respected and validated by Venezuelan authorities."

"Venezuela rejects, in the strongest terms, the new crime of aggression committed by the government of the United States of America against Venezuela," a foreign ministry statement said.

It accused Washington of "seeking to ingratiate itself with a political class that has resorted to fascist and violent practices to overthrow, without success, the Bolivarian democracy."

The State Department is also moving to impose visa restrictions on Maduro-aligned officials said to have undermined the electoral process.

The Treasury has sanctioned more than 140 current or former Venezuelan officials for contributing to the country's situation.

The latest group includes judges Inocencio Antonio Figueroa Arizaleta, Malaquias Gil Rodriguez and Juan Carlos Hidalgo Pandares.

Also targeted are Caryslia Beatriz Rodriguez Rodriguez, who heads the TSJ, and CNE Secretary General Antonio Jose Meneses Rodriguez.

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