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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nicolás Maduro Moros is serving as the president of Venezuela since 2013. / Photo via Voice of America Journal.
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Published on
Monday, January 13, 2025
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services
Costa Rica joined
the United States and nine Latin
American countries on Friday to issue a
joint statement rejecting the Venezuela
Supreme Court's certification of
President Nicolás Maduro's July 28
re-election, widely rejected at home and
abroad. The governments of
Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, the United
States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay
said the court's ruling was invalidated
by a "lack of independence and
impartiality." The nations said
they "categorically reject" the Supreme
Court announcement and its bid to
"validate the unsubstantiated results
issued by the electoral body." The United States
imposed sanctions Friday on eight
Venezuelan officials and increased to
$25 million the reward it is offering
for the arrest of President Nicolas
Maduro, according to a report
published by Voice of America Journal
(VOA). The actions came
on the day of Maduro’s inauguration to a
third term following a disputed election
last year. It was the latest
in a series of punitive steps by the
outgoing Biden administration against
Maduro's government in the aftermath of
the July vote, which both his ruling
Socialist party and the OPEC nation's
opposition claim to have won. The new officials
sanctioned include the recently
appointed head of Venezuela's state oil
company PDVSA, Hector Obregon, and
Venezuela's transportation minister,
Ramon Velasquez. The U.S. move
coincided with sanctions announced by
Britain and the European Union.
Maduro
and his aides have always rejected sanctions
by the U.S. and others, saying they are
illegitimate measures that amount to an
"economic war" designed to cripple
Venezuela. He and his allies have cheered
what they say is the country’s resilience
despite the measures, although they have
historically blamed some economic hardships
and shortages on sanctions.
The
country's electoral authority and top court
claim Maduro, whose time in office has been
marked by a deep economic and social crisis,
won last year's presidential vote, although
they have not published detailed tallies.
The
government, which has accused the opposition
of fomenting fascist plots against it, said
it will arrest opposition presidential
candidate Edmundo Gonzalez should he return
to the country from exile and has detained
prominent opposition members and activists
in the lead-up to the inauguration.
The
opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won in a
landslide. It has published its own vote
tallies as evidence, winning support from
governments around the world, including the
United States, who consider Gonzalez the
president-elect. International election
observers have said the vote was unfair.
Maduro,
62, has been in power since 2013, and the
new sanctions come a little more than a week
before U.S. President Joe Biden will end his
term and be succeeded by Donald Trump on
Jan. 20.
In
addition to the sanctions, the U.S.
government increased to $25 million the
reward it is offering for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of
Maduro, who has long faced U.S. drug
trafficking charges. The reward was $15
million.
Maduro
has held onto power despite heavy pressure
from successive U.S. administrations,
retaining the support of Venezuela's
military as well as China, Russia and Iran.
The
new measures had been in the works before
the brief detention Thursday of opposition
leader Maria Corina Machado following an
anti-government march in Caracas, her first
public appearance after months out of the
public eye.
---------------- How could the Venezuelans depose President Nicolás Maduro without the support of the army? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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