EU slaps sanctions on 19 prime Venezuelan officers over election fraud – POLITICO

EU international ministers on Monday imposed sanctions on 19 main Venezuelan officers accused of undermining democracy or violating human rights within the South American nation.

The officers — which embody high-ranking generals and different military commanders in addition to supreme court docket judges and senior politicians from the regime of strongman Nicolás Maduro — had been hit with journey bans and asset freezes “in view of the deteriorating state of affairs in Venezuela following the December 2020 elections,” the Council of the EU mentioned in an announcement.

The December elections for a brand new Venezuelan Nationwide Meeting have been extensively criticized as undemocratic and had been boycotted by giant elements of the opposition, together with primary opposition chief Juan Guaidó. EU international ministers adopted conclusions final month saying that the elections “didn’t adjust to the worldwide requirements for a democratic course of” and can’t be acknowledged as credible.

The restrictions come on prime of earlier EU sanctions imposed on Venezuela in 2017, which included an embargo on arms and tools that can be utilized for repression in addition to an inventory of people hit with journey bans and asset freezes. The brand new sanctions deliver the overall variety of focused Venezuelan officers to 55.

The measures “are designed to not have antagonistic humanitarian results or unintended penalties for the Venezuelan inhabitants, and may be reversed,” the Council assertion mentioned, including: “The EU will proceed to have interaction and work with all stakeholders in Venezuela to promote peaceable dialogue and a democratic and sustainable answer to the crises within the nation.”

Final month, EU international coverage chief Josep Borrell and EU international ministers confronted criticism from MEPs for adopting an EU place that downgraded Guaidó.