Blake Hall
On Monday the United States officially declared Venezuela a “national security threat” and leveled sanctions against seven officials from the socialist South American nation.
It’s by far the worst diplomatic dispute between the two countries since Nicolas Maduro took over as President of Venezuela after Hugo Chavez’s death in 2013.
While senior U.S. officials denied the fact that they were targeting the oil-rich nation’s energy sector or broader economy, President Barack Obama issued and signed the executive order that undoubtedly adds fuel to the already simmering relationship between Washington and Caracas.
Historically, declaring a country a national security threat is the first step to jumpstarting a U.S. sanctions program. The same initial move was made recently in measures against Iran and Syria. In this case, the White House stated that the decision ultimately came down to ethics.
“Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. “We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents. Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved by criminalizing dissent.”
The U.S. and Venezuela have not had full diplomatic relations since 2008, when Hugo Chavez threw out U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy and, in response, the White House tossed Venezuela envoy Bernardo Alvarez.