US sanctions 4 individuals for undermining democracy in Venezuela News
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US sanctions 4 individuals for undermining democracy in Venezuela

The US Department of the Treasury announced Friday that it added four new Venezuelan nationals to its list of specially designated nationals.

The individuals are David Eugenio De Lima Salas, Reinaldo Enrique Muñoz Pedroza, Indira Maira Alfonzo Izaguirre and Jose Luis Gutierrez Parra. According to a Treasury press release, the individuals were added based on findings that they “facilitated the illegitimate Maduro regime’s efforts to undermine the independence and democratic order of Venezuela.”

The Treasury stated that the individuals’ “actions are part of a broader election interference scheme to prevent free and fair parliamentary elections from taking place in December 2020 by restructuring the National Electoral Council and controlling the state’s wealth and assets for regime purposes through the Solicitor General.”

The Treasury also noted that Canada has also sanctioned Pedroza and Izaguirre for corruption. In light of the sanctions imposed by the US, any property and interests owned by these four that are currently within the US are blocked. For these sanctions to be lifted, the individuals must “take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order, refuse to take part in human rights abuses, speak out against abuses committed by the illegitimate Maduro regime, or combat corruption in Venezuela.”

These conditions are tied to Executive Order 13692, which was passed in 2015.