U.S. Considers Imposing Non-Sectorial Sanctions on Venezuela Latin American Herald Tribune December 2, 2014
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration and Congress are to work together on the possible extension of sanctions on Venezuela provided that they are individual, not sectorial and do not harm the average citizens of that country, a senior U.S. official has said.
On Monday, a U.S. Department of State official said on grounds of anonymity that the administration supports Congress’ intent to impose sanctions on Venezuela, depending on the timing.
In a recent Senate appearance, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Antony Blinken said the White House was willing to work with Congress on the sanctions issue.
According to the State Department official, a sanctions law could be very useful depending on how it is drafted and when it is used.
“We don’t want to do anything to hurt the Venezuelan people,” he added.
Until now, the administration had waited on the sanctions issue to see if the leftist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition could work out their differences through dialog.
However, the U.S. government’s concern has deepened as there has been no apparent will on Venezuela’s part to change politically or economically.
After months of pressure from Congress, in July the United States banned the entry of certain Venezuelan government officials allegedly linked to cases of human rights violations.
However, many legislators are pushing for the United States to adopt harder measures such as freezing the assets of people who were involved in cracking down on street protests in Venezuela, and revoking the visas of Venezuelan officials on a list drawn up by Congress.
Venezuela is among a group of Latin American countries where democracy suffered setbacks last year and which include Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia and Nicaragua, said the senior official.
Many of these countries have restricted the freedom of expression and criminalized dissent, while in Venezuela political freedoms are narrowing as in the lack of a fair and transparent legal process in the case of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, the official added.
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