The United States of America (USA) today imposed sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials and increased the reward to $25 million for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on the day of his inauguration for a third term after disputed elections last year.
These are new in a series of punitive measures by the outgoing administration of US President Joseph Biden against Maduro's government after the July elections, in which both the ruling Socialist Party and the opposition claimed to have won.
Among the newly sanctioned officials are the recently appointed head of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA Hector Obregon, Venezuela's Minister of Transportation Ramon Velasquez, as well as police and military officials.
The US move coincided with sanctions announced by the UK and the European Union against 15 Venezuelan officials, including members of the National Electoral Council and security forces. Canada also imposed new sanctions on Venezuela.
"Maduro and his associates have continued their repressive actions in Venezuela," US Treasury Department official Bradley Smith said in a statement.
He added that the US and partner countries stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people, who he said have elected "new leadership", and that the US "rejects Maduro's false claim of victory".
Maduro and his associates have always rejected US and other sanctions, saying they are illegitimate measures that amount to "economic warfare" designed to cripple Venezuela.
"The outgoing US government does not know how to take revenge on us," Maduro said during his inaugural speech, without directly mentioning the sanctions.
He and his allies praise what they say is the country's resilience to the punitive measures, though they have blamed the sanctions for economic hardship and shortages.
The electoral authority and the country's highest court claim that Maduro, whose previous presidential mandates have been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won last year's presidential election, although they have not released detailed data.
The government, which has accused the opposition of fomenting fascist plots against it, has said it will arrest opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez if he returns from exile and has detained prominent opposition members and activists ahead of the inauguration.
The opposition says that the 75-year-old Gonzalez won convincingly. As proof, she released her polling data, winning the support of governments around the world, including the US, which considers Gonzalez the president-elect. International election observers said the election was not fair.
Maduro (62) has been in power since 2013, and the new sanctions were introduced just over a week before Biden's term ends when Donald Trump is sworn in on January 20.
In addition to the sanctions, the US government increased to $25 million, up from $15 million previously, the reward it is offering for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Maduro.
In 2020, the US indicted Maduro and other officials on drug and corruption charges. Maduro has denied the accusations.
Maduro has held on to power despite heavy pressure from successive US administrations, retaining the support of Venezuela's military, as well as China, Russia and Iran.
Biden welcomed Gonzalez to the White House earlier this week, calling him the "real winner" of the election. However, Trump did not meet with Gonzalez, leaving it to one of his future senior aides.
During his first term, from 2017-2021, Trump waged a "maximum pressure" campaign against Maduro, imposing the toughest sanctions on the South American country, including on its oil industry.
Biden briefly rolled back some Trump-era restrictions after Maduro's pledge, but then reinstated them, saying the Venezuelan leader had failed to deliver on his promise of fair democratic elections.
It remains unclear how Trump will treat Venezuela in his second term. Trump's decision is complicated by concerns about immigration, a current US domestic issue, but he has said the US does not need Venezuelan oil.
One of Trump's central campaign promises was the mass deportation of undocumented migrants, many of whom are from Venezuela, whose return would likely require the cooperation of Venezuelan authorities.
Following the brief detention of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in Caracas ahead of Maduro's inauguration, Trump released a statement on social media saying, "These freedom fighters should not be threatened."
Maduro's government has denied any involvement, saying the opposition orchestrated it to secure support for Machado.
The palace where Maduro was sworn in and delivered a fiery speech was under tight security by police, military and intelligence officials. Crowds of people, many of them wearing t-shirts supporting Maduro, gathered in neighboring streets and in a nearby square.
Maduro accused the opposition of trying to turn his inauguration into a "world war" and said the opposition's failure to prevent the inauguration was "a great victory for Venezuela."
He accused foreign powers of "attacking" Venezuela, especially the US government, and promised to guarantee "peace and national sovereignty."
"Today more than ever I feel the burden of dedication, the power that I represent, the power that the constitution gives me," he said. "I was not appointed by the United States government, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America".
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