Trump Administration Is Weighing New Sanctions Against Venezuela
Maduro said that If the Maduro regime imposes its constituent assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions.
The Trump administration added Venezuela’s vice president, Tareck El Aissami, to its sanctions list in February, accusing him of playing a "significant role in international narcotics trafficking." As human rights abuses
and unrest in Venezuela have worsened in recent months, some leaders in the region have voiced support for multilateral sanctions.
By MAGGIE HABERMAN and ERNESTO LONDOÑOJULY 18, 2017
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on additional Venezuelan officials, one of several
options under discussion as a rebuke to President Nicolás Maduro’s government and his efforts to consolidate authority.
Venezuelan officials responded defiantly on Monday to news
that the Trump administration was planning to impose economic sanctions if Mr. Maduro goes forward with the constituent assembly.
Administration officials said they were using a number of tactics to persuade Mr. Maduro to hold off on constituent assembly elections seen by critics as a power grab,
and more broadly to ease the authoritarian tilt of his government.
Camilleri said that It risks playing into Maduro’s hands by vindicating his far-fetched claims of a U.S. ‘economic war’ against Venezuela
and allowing him to rally or divide Latin America by raising the specter of U.S. interventionism,
