The Treasury Department announced Monday that it was imposing new sanctions on four Venezuelan governors connected to beleaguered President Nicolas Maduro’s government — blocking any assets they control in the US.
“The illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to blockade international aid intended for the Venezuelan people are shameful,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
“Treasury is targeting four state governors aligned with former President Maduro for standing in the way of severely needed humanitarian assistance and prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people.”
The four officials are involved in “endemic corruption” and “blocking the delivery of critical humanitarian aid, thereby exacerbating the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by the illegitimate Maduro regime,” the department said.
The new round of sanctions comes as Vice President Mike Pence and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó met in Bogota, Colombia, with members of the Lima Group, a bloc of nations from Argentina to Canada dedicated to the resolution of the Venezuelan crisis.
“We are with you 100 percent,” Pence said ahead of the start of the meeting. “I want to assure you, President Guaidó, the tragic events of this past weekend have only steeled the resolve of the United States to stand with you … We will keep standing until your libertad is restored.”
Earlier this month, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ramped up sanctions on Maduro’s intelligence services and management of the state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela.
Sanctions were imposed on two governors who head states along the Colombian border.
Omar Jose Prieto Fernandez is governor of Zulia, which Treasury described as a hub for organized crime, where drug trafficking and murder-for-hire is rampant.
On Feb. 12, Prieto threatened to visit the homes of opposition leaders who permitted access to humanitarian aid in Venezuela. He also recently threatened to declare Venezuela’s “oil state” of Zulia independent should a new transition government take power.
Ramon Alonso Carrizalez Rengifo, the governor of Apure and former defense minister, had “endorsed” threats of violence against opposition protesters, the department said.
Also sanctioned were Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro, the governor of Vargas and also a former defense minister, who has rejected Guaidó as interim president, and Rafael Alejandro Lacava Evangelista, the governor of Carabobo whom Treasury described as a Maduro intermediary involved in hiding funds overseas.