U.S. Treasury Department imposes sanctions on 21 Venezuelan nationals

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed restrictions on 21 citizens of Venezuela, which are allegedly associated with the President of the state Nicolas Maduro. This on November 27 follows from a publication on the website of the department.

"The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury imposes sanctions against 21 security and cabinet-level officials associated with Nicolas Maduro," - stated in the publication.

It is specified that the restrictions are subject to persons who are current or former officials of the Venezuelan government. Among them are representatives of the Bolivarian National Guard, police, militia, intelligence service, as well as the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence.

Venezuela's presidential election was held on July 28 and won by Nicolas Maduro. Speaking to supporters outside the presidential palace, the politician said his success was a "triumph of peace and stability" and showed that Venezuela's electoral system was "transparent."

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow welcomed the successful holding of the popular will in Venezuela and reaffirmed the mood for further cooperation between the countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Maduro on his victory.

Some countries refused to recognize the results of the vote in Venezuela. Thus, the U.S. authorities officially recognized the victory of the opposition candidate Gonzalez, while the governments of Argentina, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Ecuador demanded a "full review of the results."

In September, the U.S. Justice Department arrested Maduro's plane in the Dominican Republic, which was sharply condemned in Venezuela. In turn, Argentina requested an arrest warrant for Maduro from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and put him on an international wanted list. In the same month, the European Parliament called for Maduro 's arrest and for Gonzalez to be recognized as president.