US Sanctions Six Venezuelan Security Officials For Blocking Aid

By


President Maduro says US is trying to assassinate him.
The United States imposed sanctions Friday on six Venezuelan security officials for obstructing aid, which Washington had tried to force in as part of its effort to topple President Nicolas Maduro.

“We are sanctioning members of Maduro’s security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard, and Jesus Maria Mantilla Oliveros, commander of a unit tasked by Maduro with reinforcing security on the Brazilian border, the Treasury Department said.

The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States by the six security officials as well as US financial dealings with them.

The United States, backed by Colombia and Brazil, last weekend tried to push badly needed aid into the crisis-torn country in coordination with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president.

Venezuelan forces blocked the operation, fearing it was a precursor to an invasion as President Donald Trump has not ruled out the use of force to depose Maduro.

Four people were killed in the ensuing melee and Guaido was stuck outside Venezuela, although he has vowed to return.

“The United States strongly supports the efforts of Interim President Juan Guaido, and Treasury will continue to target Maduro loyalists prolonging the suffering of the victims of this man-made humanitarian crisis,” Mnuchin said.

Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a US and European-backed resolution at the United Nations that would have called for new presidential elections in Venezuelaand unimpeded deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow on Friday, said that Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat into Venezuela and was considering more shipments of medical supplies after sending 7.5 tonnes worth.

“We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena,” Lavrov said.

“This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs,” he said.

Guaido has said that 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela, where Maduro’s leftist government presides over a crumbling economy in a crisis that according to the United Nations has caused 2.7 million people to flee since 2015.

The Trump administration has rejected Maduro’s appeals for direct talks, saying there is nothing to negotiate so long as he stays in power.

AFP


Source:https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/03/us-sanctions-six-venezuelan-security.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prostitution; Nigerian Women At Growing Risk From Human Traffickers In Germany.

By
Image
According to InfoMigrants, Nigerian women are at growing risk from traffickers in Germany who exploit and engage them in prostitution. Read the full report below by InfoMigrants. The new prostitute protection law in Germany was meant to identify victims of human trafficking – most of them migrant women. More than 18 months after the law came into effect, thousands continue to be targeted for exploitation, and the risk for Nigerian women seems to be increasing. There are campervans parked by the roadside. Some have hearts painted on them, one says “girls, girls” in red letters. It’s an easy matter for someone to stop for a quick transaction in one of these Love-Mobiles – sex with one of the “girls” in exchange for the going rate. Prostitution is mainly legal in Germany, as are these mobile brothels. But many of the women in the business – including those working from the Love-Mobiles – are victims of illegal human trafficking. Most of the women are from Eastern Europe or Nige
Read more

FULL TEXT: A sacrifice for our new political order – Ezekwesili

By
Image
“When the ACPN leadership approached me in a series of visits to appeal that I run for office on their platform, the party appeared to be a good fit. It was founded by some disgruntled PDP members some years ago, but when its prime founder decided to return to the PDP, a core of its membership refused to move back with him. I was told that they stayed back because of their opposition to the ways of the PDP. Considering my vocal disapproval of the PDP and the APC, I admired the ACPN’s decision to stand firm and refusal to be co-opted.” It has been an interesting one week since I made the tough but necessary decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. I have been truly overwhelmed by the reactions to my announcement from Nigerians. Even in airports outside the country as I travelled last week, Nigerians walked up to me with questions, concerns, encouragement, and motivation. I also saw disappointment by some who had poured their hearts and hopes into actualising our mission
Read more

Update On Slay Queen Who Was Stripped Naked And Tortured Over Missing Phone.

By
Image
The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olusegun Odumosu, 24 hours to unravel those behind the torture and insertion of pepper into a girl’s private part in Benin City over alleged stealing of a mobile phone.  Chairman of the platform and former Student Union President of the University of Benin, Mr. Abubakar Yesufu, who said this in a statement yesterday, also urged the state Director, Department of State Services, DSS, to be involved in the investigation. A video of the incident, seen by Vanguard yesterday, showed the girl being stripped naked by a group of people, who inserted pepper into her private parts for allegedly stealing a phone. The unidentified girl was heard crying and saying she didn’t steal any phone, while she was being humiliated by the crowd. Yesufu said: “The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given the Edo State Commissioner of Police 24 hours to arrest and commence prosecution of all the street urchins behind this ba
Read more