US Warns of Sanctions on Venezuela
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Trump administration is warning that it might impose more sanctions on Venezuelan officials over President Nicolas Maduro’s push to rewrite the constitution amid an escalating political crisis with near-daily demonstrations calling for his ouster.
“What President Maduro is trying to do yet again is trying to change the rules of the game,” Michael Fitzpatrick, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs said Tuesday, AP reported.
“The actions that were taken yesterday may well give us new reasons for considering additional individualized sanctions.”
The warning comes as pressure is building on the Trump administration from Congress to act more forcefully to rein in Maduro. Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators said it will introduce legislation providing humanitarian assistance to Venezuela while toughening sanctions against corrupt officials, according to Senate aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The legislation also instructs the intelligence community to prepare a partly unclassified report on what it calls Venezuelan government officials’ involvement in corruption and drug trafficking.