US Sanctions Venezuelan Officials Amid Disputed Election

The United States has announced that 16 Venezuelan officials have been added to a list of sanctioned entities due to President Nicolas Maduro’s announced victory on July 29th. These 16 include members of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) and Supreme Court of Justice and Truth (TSJ), alongside the Vice President of the National Assembly, Pedro Infante Aparicio..Economic PressureQuestions regarding the legitimacy of the election have ultimately led to numerous sanctions that were previously lifted under the Barbados Agreement, an agreement that sought to secure campaigning rights for the opposition within Venezuela in exchange for removed sanctions to be reimposed, while others have been targeted due to their role in continuing Maduro’s vice grip on power. Justifying the reimposed sanctions and new individuals targeted by the economic tool, the United States’ Department of the Treasury released a statement on Thursday detailing both the 16 individuals targeted by sanctions and the purpose for the new wave of sanctions.Those targeted in the new wave of sanctions by the United States include members of the previously mentioned CNE and TSJ alongside “military, intelligence, and government officials” who, according to the United States’ Department of the Treasury, are allegedly “responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.”“Today, the United States is taking decisive action against Maduro and his representatives for their repression of the Venezuelan people and denial of their citizens’ rights to a free and fair election,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, said in a statement published on the department’s website. “The Treasury Department is targeting key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election, as the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans call for change. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to use our tools to hold Maduro and his cronies accountable and support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people.”Since his victory, doubts have surrounded the legitimacy of the nation’s 2024 electoral process following allegations of voter intimidation and political repression of opposition voters, alongside numerous other forms of political repression. Questions regarding the results of the election have only increased in volume due to the CNE’s refusal to publish voting tally sheets, a key point of contention that critics claim grants legitimacy to the opposition’s own claims of a fraudulent election.The CNE’s continued failure to publish voting records parallels the opposition’s own willingness to provide evidence of their own victory, with the opposition alliance known as the Unitary Platform previously publishing their own collected tally sheets, which placed their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, as the true winner in the nation’s election. The published results evidence González’s victory, who, according to the opposition, secured 65 percent of the vote. The failure of the CNE and the opposition’s own willingness to publish electoral results has acted as fuel for numerous anti-government demonstrations alongside widespread condemnation of Maduro’s regime within the international community, ultimately leading nations such as the United States to reject Maduro’s alleged victory in favor of the opposition.The Department of the Treasury further evidenced the flight of González as cause for the new wave of sanctions against Venezuelan entities. The presidential candidate previously fled Venezuela on Saturday following an announced investigation into the presidential candidate by Attorney General William Tarek Saab after González released a joint statement alongside former presidential candidate and figurehead of the Unitary Platform Maria Corina Machado. In this statement, the pair called on the lower enlisted within Venezuela’s military alongside police to resist Maduro’s continued rule in Venezuela by joining the opposition. This investigation is believed to be the cause for González’s refusal to attend hearings regarding the authenticity of the election in the TSJ, which summoned every presidential candidate in this year's election.Saab confirmed González’s flight from Venezuela the day after the presidential candidate’s departure, stating that the Venezuelan government had reached an agreement with Spain to facilitate the safe transfer of the political leader in an alleged effort to restore “political peace,” according to Saab..Continued Repression as the War Carries OnSince Maduro’s announced victory on July 29, the president has launched a brutal campaign of political repression against both the civilian populace within Venezuela and the political opposition. As of September 9, 1808, people, including 60 minors, have been arrested for alleged acts of terrorism, conspiracy, and other high crimes against the state, according to Foro Penal, a human rights non-governmental organization. These charges are a common tactic employed by Maduro's enforcers, who arrest anyone who dares to express dissent to the president's continued reign. The children held by Venezuelan security forces are reportedly without parental supervision during their criminal proceedings, according to the UN's mission, a violation of international law under Article 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Venezuela's Attorney General puts this number even higher, previously stating that 2,200 people have been arrested.Numerous political figures have also suffered a number of abuses by the state, both after the results of the election and during the nation’s campaigning period. Those arrested include regional coordinators and figureheads for member parties of the Unitary Platform such as Vente Venezuela, Machado and González’s party, Acción Democrática, among others. Members of the government are not spared such abuses either, as two prosecutors have previously been arrested for refusing to try participants in anti-government demonstrations. These instances of rebellion within Venezuela's lower governmental structure act as evidence that not all those within power are completely loyal to Maduro, likely acting as a key sign for the opposition's hope to remove Maduro from power.As resistance to Maduro’s continued rule survives a brutal campaign launched by the president’s enforcers, the future of Venezuela stands on the brink between the continued rule of Maduro and his United Socialists of Venezuela and widespread change under the opposition’s Unitary Platform. It remains unknown how the opposition plans to oust the president from power, as previous coups against Maduro, such as Operation Gideon in 2020, have been met with failure, and the previous instance of a contested presidency under Juan Guaidó met a similar fate. Some have suggested the opposition may seek to remove Maduro from power by securing the loyalty of the military's lower enlisted, as evidenced by a statement published by both Machado and González on Monday; however, a successful coup remains unlikely due to Maduro's control of both the Venezuelan higher government and military elite.Regardless of the opposition's strategy in regards to Maduro, political repression against the opposition alongside violence on Venezuela's streets will continue as the election remains contested.