Friday, December 19, 2014

Obama signs bill to sanction Caracas officials

US President Obama arrives to announce a shift in US-Cuba policy in an address to the nation from the White House in Washington on Wednesday.

Venezuela’s Maduro indicates aggressive approach may end after news of US-Cuba deal

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama has signed legislation into law allowing him to sanction Venezuelan government officials who were involved in a crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The bill authorizes sanctions that would freeze the assets and ban visas for anyone accused of carrying out acts of violence or violating the human rights of those opposing the South American nation’s socialist government.

Last summer, the State Department imposed a travel ban on Venezuelan officials who were accused of abuses during street protests that left dozens of people dead.

Venezuela criticized the legislation as it moved through Congress.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called the legislation a “step in the wrong direction” because it ignores the “national and continental rejection.”

Maduro said that the US government is being contradictory because on one hand “it recognizes the failure of the policies of aggression and blockade against Cuba” and the other “it begins a new stage escalation of attacks on the homeland of Bolívar.”

“The imperialists in the north will continue to fail. Our America won’t ever again be a colony,” he added.

Obama went ahead with the sanctions on the Venezuelan officials only a day after announcing the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, Venezuela’s main ally.

It is unclear whether Maduro’s government will seek to move closer to Washington following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba.

Maduro has accused the US of multiple assassination attempts, sabotaging Venezuela’s electrical grid and inciting an “economic war” as the country struggles with one of the world’s highest inflation rates and its bonds trade at default levels. When the US Congress approved legislation this month to freeze assets and deny visas for Venezuelan officials accused of repressing anti-government protests, he called them “insolent Yankees” and told them where they “can shove their visas.”

However, hours after Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced the restoration of diplomatic ties on Wednesday, Maduro dropped his aggressive approach.

“I am working to find the best way to improve relations with the northern giant, especially with the good news and winds of change coming from the Caribbean,” he said.

The US State Department suspended in July the visas of 24 Venezuelan officials accused of violating human rights during the protests that left a death toll of 43.

The two countries have not shared ambassadors since 2010.

Herald with AP, Reuters