US considering new sanctions against Venezuela following Maduro's victory
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
The White House believes that election manipulations have undermined the credibility of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's claim of victory in the recent election and has left open the possibility of new sanctions against the country, informs Reuters.
American officials emphasized that Washington doubted the results of the vote, which declared Maduro the winner, and demanded the publication of a detailed vote count.
Independent exit polls showed the opposition's victory. Maduro's opposition rival, Edmundo González, claimed that he was the true winner.
American officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, reinforced the public demands of President Joe Biden's senior aides for Maduro to publish a detailed vote count, stating that otherwise, the international community would not want to recognize the announced result.
Officials did not present any new punitive measures but said that Washington would assess its sanctions policy toward Venezuela based on Maduro's future actions.
"We are faced with potentially a new scenario. We are going to take that into account as we map forward where we may head with respect to sanctions toward Venezuela," one official said.
Background
On July 28, the presidential election was held in Venezuela. The announcement of the results was delayed for several hours, and the National Electoral Council, controlled by Maduro's supporters, declared his victory without providing polling station results.
Thousands of people dissatisfied with the election results took to the streets to protest in Caracas and other cities.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed the United States' "serious concerns" over the disputed election results, noting that they might not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.
