US Sanctions Individuals Tied to Maduro for Election Fraud

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The United States has deemed the election illegitimate.

The United States announced on Sept. 12 that it has sanctioned and issued visa restrictions against 16 individuals tied to Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro related to fraud stemming from the July 28 presidential election, which the United States has deemed as illegitimate.

“The United States is taking decisive action against Maduro and his representatives for their repression of the Venezuelan people and denial of their citizens’ rights to a free and fair election,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

Those sanctioned were Rosalba Gil Pacheco, Edward Miguel Briceno, Luis Ernesto Duenez, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Caryslia Rodriguez, Malaquias Gil, Inocencio Antonio Figueroa, Antonio Jose Meneses, Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante, Pedro Jose Infante Aparicio, Domingo Antonio Hernandez, Elio Ramon Estrada, Johan Alexander Hernandez, Asdrubal Jose Brito, Miguel Antonio Munoz, and Fanny Beatriz Marquez.

Figueroa, who serves on the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, Venezuela’s highest court, was sanctioned for certifying Maduro’s reelection. Canada sanctioned him in 2019.

Supreme Tribunal of Justice jurists Gil, Rodriguez, and Hidalgo were sanctioned for disqualifying opposition politician María Corina Machado from the ballot.

Briceno and Duenez were sanctioned for issuing the arrest warrant for Edmundo Gonzalez, Maduro’s main opponent, who was deemed by the United States and Spain to be the winner of the election. Gonzalez has been in exile since Spain granted him asylum. He has been in Spain since Sept. 8.

Gil Pacheco, who serves on the National Electoral Council, instituted “a restrictive new rule for poll watcher eligibility, instituting electoral registration irregularities, and intentionally delaying voting center processes,” according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Meneses, who serves on the National Electoral Council, “instituted a restrictive new rule for poll watcher eligibility, introducing electoral registration irregularities, and intentionally delaying voting center processes,” the Treasury Department said, citing news reports.

Bustamante, a prosecutor at the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, “obstructed democracy and the rule of law by initiating politically motivated prosecutions, which resulted in the arbitrary detention of members of the U.S.-recognized 2015 National Assembly and other officials opposed to Maduro,” said the department, citing media sources.

Estrada, the commander of the Bolivarian National Guard, harassed and detained people backing Machado and apprehended those protesting against Maduro after the election.

The United States has condemned the arrest warrant for González as “unjustified” and an “arbitrary and politically motivated action.”

“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,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.