Caracas, September 13 (IANS) Venezuela has rejected sanctions imposed by the US on its officials. The US Treasury Department has taken this action against several officials of Caracas.
In a statement on Thursday, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry condemned the US move as “unilateral, illegitimate and coercive”, Xinhua news agency reported. The ministry called the US decision a “new crime of aggression”.
The ministry said Washington had once again demonstrated “its total disregard for international law, the self-determination of the people and the democratic will of Venezuela.”
The ministry said the latest sanctions violated agreements reached in Qatar in September 2023 between the governments of Venezuela and the United States.
Earlier, the US Treasury Department announced new individual sanctions against 16 Venezuelan officials.
The Treasury Department said the sanctioned officials “obstructed democratic political participation and undermined the electoral process” during Venezuela’s recent presidential elections.
The Venezuelan officials sanctioned included Carislia Rodríguez, president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, and Pedro Infante, first vice president of the National Assembly.
–IANS
Mk/ABM
