President Obama issued an executive order Monday that Republicans will likely wholeheartedly back.
Obama’s unilateral action will expand sanctions Congress placed on Venezuelan officials who violate the human rights of their own citizens and engage in acts of public corruption.
The officials, the White House announced Monday, will not be welcome in the United States, and the U.S. government will block their access to American financial systems. A senior administration official told reporters that the U.S. is specifically targeting seven Venezuelan officials for the sanctions.
Obama is taking the action “to shine a light on” humans rights abuses and “public corruption” and “in doing so to help the government of Venezuela change its ways,” the U.S. official said.
The official quickly stressed that the sanctions do not target the Venezuelan government as a whole or the country’s people or its economy.
The White House move comes after the Venezuelan government over the weekend removed the U.S. from its list of countries that benefit from an international visa waiver program that allowed U.S. citizens to obtain a short-term visa immediately on arrival in the country.
President Nicolas Maduro took the step because he believed the relaxed visa measures could make it easier for U.S. citizens plotting against the government to come to Venezuela.
The White House countered Monday that its moves stem from deep concerns that the Venezuelan government is escalating intimidation of its political opponents.
“Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved by criminalizing dissent,” the White House said. “We have consistently called on the Venezuelan government to release those it has unjustly jailed as well as to improve the climate of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms such as the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.”
White House press secretary Josh Earnest called on the Venezuelan government to release all political prisoners, including dozens of students, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and Mayors Daniel Ceballos and Antonio Ledezma.
“The only way to solve Venezuela’s problems is through real dialogue — not detaining opponents and attempting to silence critics,” Earnest said. “The Venezuelan people deserve a government that lives up to its commitment to democracy … and human rights.”
Earnest also accused the Venezuelan government of trying to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States or other members of the international community for events inside Venezuela.
“These efforts reflect a lack of seriousness non the part of Venezuelan government to deal with the grave situation it faces,” he said.
At a time when the U.S. is openly engaging in talks to normalize Cuba, the White House pointed out Venezuela has opting to go in the opposite direction.
