US blacklists four people, alleging Venezuela election meddling
Venezuelan opposition and the US say the electoral council is full of Maduro loyalists and cannot oversee a free vote.
The United States on Friday blacklisted four individuals for what it said was their help for the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to prevent free and fair parliamentary elections in Venezuela in December.
Two of the people, Indira Alfonso and Jose Gutierrez, were appointed earlier this year by the pro-government Supreme Court to oversee the national electoral council, which has called elections for this December.
The Venezuelan opposition and the US say the council is stacked with Maduro loyalists and cannot oversee a fair vote. The main opposition coalition, led by Parliament head Juan Guaido, has promised to boycott the election.
“The corrupt Maduro regime is attempting to seize control of the National Assembly of Venezuela through a fraudulent election,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Also sanctioned were Reinaldo Munoz, Maduro’s solicitor general, and former Venezuelan state Governor David de Lima, who the Treasury said had orchestrated vote-buying operations to sway opposition legislators.
Venezuela‘s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.