US Sanctions More Maduro Allies Over Venezuelan Election, Government Repression

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech following the presidential election results in Caracas, on July 29, 2024. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Nov. 27 imposed new sanctions on 21 security and Cabinet-level officials aligned with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

The U.S. sanctions are meant to freeze any U.S. assets belonging to the sanctioned individuals and block transactions they may seek with U.S. individuals.

The U.S. State Department will also impose new visa restrictions targeting officials affiliated with Maduro.

Targets of the new sanctions include Anibal Eduardo Coronado Millan, William Alfredo Castillo Bolle, Ricardo Jose Menendez Prieto, Freddy Alfred Nazaret Nanez Contreras, Daniella Desiree Cabello Contreras, Julio Jose Garcia Zerpa, and America Valentina Perez Davila.

Millan has served as the head of the Maduro’s Office of the President.

Bolle has served as Maduro’s vice-minister of Anti-Blockade Policies in the Venezuelan Ministry of Economy, Finances, and External Trade.

Nanez has led Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications.

Cabello has been the president of Venezuela’s Export Promotion Agency.

Zerpa has been the minister of Venezuela’s Penitentiary Services. The Treasury Department says he has overseen brutal conditions within the Venezuelan prisons.

Davila has served as the second vice president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, and has backed Maduro’s claims to victory in the July elections.

The new sanctions also target senior administration officials within Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard, Bolivarian National Police, Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, and Venezuelan military intelligence components.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council called the July 28 election for the incumbent Maduro, but Maduro’s political opposition within Venezuela has challenged those claims.

The United States has since declared Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González to be the rightful election winner and condemned efforts by Venezuelan authorities to stifle dissent within the country.

“Maduro and his representatives’ repressive actions in the wake of the Venezuelan presidential election are a desperate attempt to silence the voices of its citizens,” Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said on Wednesday. “The United States will continue to shine a light on those who seek to use violence and intimidation to undermine democratic governance and the legitimate exercise of free speech.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States has, as of these latest actions, sanctioned 180 current and former Venezuelan officials, and imposed visa restrictions on nearly 2,000 individuals for undermining the country’s elections and engaging in repressive acts to keep Maduro in power.

“We will continue to work with our international partners to defend democratic freedoms in Venezuela and ensure Maduro and his representatives are held accountable for their actions,” Miller said.