MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Venezuela on Saturday condemned new sanctions imposed by the United States, Britain and the European Union a day earlier, when the country swore in President Nicolas Maduro for a third term after a six-month election dispute.
“The Venezuelan Armed Forces categorically and vigorously reject the new sanctions imposed by the infamous imperial brotherhood,” wrote General Domingo Hernandez Larez, head of the Strategic Operations Command of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela, in a statement posted on social media.
He called the sanctions “a desperate action, outside the rule of international law.”
The conviction came after the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden increased its reward to $25 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Maduro on drug-trafficking charges. The previous award was $15 million.
It also issued a $25 million reward for Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and a $15 million reward for Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, as well as new sanctions against eight other officials, including the head of state oil company PDVSA Hector Obregon.
In 2020, the US indicted Maduro and others on narcotics and corruption charges, among other charges. Maduro has denied the accusations. In Hernandez’s statement, he said the Venezuelan government had launched a “frontal assault against the scourge of drug trafficking.”
The US move coincided with sanctions by Britain and the European Union, each targeting 15 officials, including members of the National Electoral Council and security forces, and Canadian sanctions targeting 14 current and former officials.
Maduro, president since 2013, was declared the winner of the July election by both Venezuelan electoral bodies and the Supreme Court, although detailed results confirming his victory have never been released.
Venezuela’s opposition says tallies at the ballot box show a landslide victory for its former candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez.
Almost 12 years of Maduro’s rule have been marked by a deep economic and social crisis and the exodus of millions of Venezuelans who have left the country. His government has always rejected all sanctions, saying they are illegitimate measures that amount to “economic warfare” aimed at crippling Venezuela.
