Trump Administration Is Weighing New Sanctions Against Venezuela<br />Maduro said that If the Maduro regime imposes its constituent assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions.<br />The Trump administration added Venezuela’s vice president, Tareck El Aissami, to its sanctions list in February, accusing him of playing a "significant role in international narcotics trafficking." As human rights abuses<br />and unrest in Venezuela have worsened in recent months, some leaders in the region have voiced support for multilateral sanctions.<br />By MAGGIE HABERMAN and ERNESTO LONDOÑOJULY 18, 2017<br />WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on additional Venezuelan officials, one of several<br />options under discussion as a rebuke to President Nicolás Maduro’s government and his efforts to consolidate authority.<br />Venezuelan officials responded defiantly on Monday to news<br />that the Trump administration was planning to impose economic sanctions if Mr. Maduro goes forward with the constituent assembly.<br />Administration officials said they were using a number of tactics to persuade Mr. Maduro to hold off on constituent assembly elections seen by critics as a power grab,<br />and more broadly to ease the authoritarian tilt of his government.<br />Camilleri said that It risks playing into Maduro’s hands by vindicating his far-fetched claims of a U.S. ‘economic war’ against Venezuela<br />and allowing him to rally or divide Latin America by raising the specter of U.S. interventionism,
