President Barack Obama hit Venezuela with a range of sanctions on Monday over the country's alleged human rights violations.
Obama issued an executive order "declaring a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the situation in Venezuela," he wrote in a letter to Congress.
The U.S. will use financial sanctions to target Venezuelan officials responsible for "the erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents [and] curtailment of press freedoms," as well as those who have arbitrarily arrested or used violence against protesters. The letter also cites "significant public corruption" in the country.
The targeted individuals include the director of Venezuela’s national police, the leader of its armed forces and the director of its national intelligence service.
They come from the top echelon of the state security apparatus that was responsible for cracking down on anti-government protests that rocked Venezuela last year and for pursuing charges against leading opponents.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that Venezuelan officials who violate human rights "will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems."
Today President Obama issued a new Executive Order to implement and expand upon the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014. Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems.
We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents. Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved by criminalizing dissent. We have consistently called on the Venezuelan government to release those it has unjustly jailed as well as to improve the climate of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. These are essential to a functioning democracy, and the Venezuelan government has an obligation to protect these fundamental freedoms.
He also called on the Venezuelan government to release all political prisoners, including dozens of students and opposition politicians.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew followed Obama's announcement with a statement of his own that said the financial sanctions will be used to defend human rights and advance democracy in Venezuela.
We are committed to defending human rights and advancing democratic governance in Venezuela through the use of financial sanctions.
We will use these tools to target those persons involved in violence against anti-government protesters, serious human rights abuses, and those involved in the arrest or prosecution of individuals for their legitimate exercise of free speech.
Corrupt actions by Venezuelan government officials deprive Venezuela of needed economic resources that could be invested in the Venezuelan people and used to spur economic growth. These actions also undermine the public trust in democratic institutions and the human rights to which Venezuelan citizens are entitled. This Executive Order will be used to protect the U.S. financial system from the illicit financial flows from public corruption in Venezuela.
How we got here
Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have been on the rise. Last week, Venezuela gave the U.S. two weeks to slash its diplomatic mission there to less than 20 percent of its current size. The U.S., in turn, has criticized Venezuela for its anti-American rhetoric.
Support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's socialist administration has fallen off sharply as Venezuela's economy has plunged deeper into crisis marked by widespread shortages and inflation rates over 60 percent. The president's approval rating in January stood at 22 percent, the lowest since the revolution started by President Hugo Chavez in 1999.
"We’ve seen many times that the Venezuelan government tries to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States or other members of the international community for events inside Venezuela," said Earnest, the White House spokesman.
"These efforts reflect a lack of seriousness on the part of the Venezuelan government to deal with the grave situation it faces."
Credit: http://mashable.com
