The Trump administration plans to sanction 13 Venezuelans tied to the government of President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday, four days before the South American nation plans to hold a vote that the U.S. says will turn Maduro’s rule into a dictatorship.
The U.S. will freeze assets and ban travel visas for the 13 individuals, who are high-ranking current or former leaders of the government, military and state oil producer, in an attempt to continue punishing Maduro loyalists for undemocratic actions. The White House, which has yet to announce the sanctions, is expected to brief key members of Congress about the decision Wednesday.
Eight of the names will coincide with a list of 10 Venezuelans that U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., sent President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggesting possible sanction targets.
The five new names are: Elías Jaua, who served vice president from 2010-12 and as foreign affairs minister from 2013-14; Néstor Reverol, minister for interior relations and justice; Alejandro Fleming, who served as vice-minister for North America and Europe from 2015-16; Sergio Rivero Marcano, commander general of the Bolivarian National Guard; and Franklin García Duque, director of the Bolivarian National Police.
The other eight Venezuelans to be sanctioned are: Tibisay Lucena, president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council; Carlos Erick Malpica Flores, national treasurer; Iris Varela, minister of Venezuela’s correctional system; Tarek William Saab, ombudsman; Jesús Suárez Chourio, commander of the Bolivarian Army; Carlos Alfredo Pérez Ampueda, director of the Bolivarian National Police; Simón Zerpa, vice president of finance of state oil producer PDVSA; and Rocco Albisini, president of the national center for foreign trade, known as CENCOEX.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
