U.S. Imposes Sanctions on 10 More Venezuelan Officials<br />Other officials included on the sanctions list on Thursday included Elvis Eduardo Hidrobo Amoroso, the second vice president of the Constituent Assembly; Julián Isaías Rodríguez Diaz, Venezuela’s ambassador to Italy<br />and former second vice president of the Constituent Assembly; Ernesto Emilio Villegas Poljak, Venezuela’s newly appointed culture minister and a former communication and information minister; and Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales, minister of urban agriculture.<br />They join a growing list of former and current Venezuelan officials who have been sanctioned by the American government, most notably President Maduro, who was added on July 31, a day after he engineered elections for an all-powerful National Constituent Assembly, a move<br />that compelled the Trump administration to label Mr. Maduro "a dictator." Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.<br />9, 2017<br />CARACAS, Venezuela — The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions against 10 more Venezuelan officials, including members of the country’s election commission<br />and several government ministers, accusing them of undermining democracy through their use of corruption and censorship in support of President Nicolás Maduro’s tightening grip on power.<br />"We will maintain our vigorous efforts to sanction Venezuelan government officials who are complicit in Maduro’s attempts to undermine democracy, violate human rights,<br />inhibit the freedom of expression or peaceful assembly, or engage in public corruption, unless they break from Maduro’s dictatorial regime," Mr. Mnuchin added.<br />Treasury said that As the Venezuelan government continues to disregard the will of its people, our message remains clear: the<br />United States will not stand aside while the Maduro regime continues to destroy democratic order and prosperity in Venezuela,<br />The Trump administration has also sanctioned eight members of the Venezuelan Supreme Court for their efforts to obstruct the National Assembly, the legislative body controlled by the opposition,<br />and Vice President Tareck El Aissami, whom American authorities have accused of narcotics trafficking.
