International

US sanctions Venezuelan officials for “falsely” proclaiming Maduro’s victory

The United States imposed sanctions on 16 Venezuelan officials, including members of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the Supreme Court of Justice and the National Assembly, for “falsely” proclaiming the victory of Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, in the presidential elections of July 28.

Among those sanctioned are the president of the Supreme Court, Caryslia Rodríguez, the secretary general of the CNE, Antonio José Meneses, and the vice president of the National Assembly, Pedro Infante Aparicio.

“Instead of respecting the will of the Venezuelan people expressed at the polls, Maduro and his representatives have falsely proclaimed their victory while repressing and intimidating the democratic opposition in an illegitimate attempt to cling to power,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

In total, the Treasury Department announced financial sanctions on 16 people “related to Maduro,” including members of the National Electoral Council, the Supreme Court of Justice and the National Assembly, whom it accuses of having “impeded a transparent electoral process and the publication of accurate electoral results.”

At the same time, the State Department banned the entry into the country of “officials aligned with Maduro who have undermined the electoral process in Venezuela and who are responsible for acts of repression.”

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Almost 2,000 people with visa restrictions

With the measures announced today, to date there are more than 140 Venezuelan officials sanctioned by the US Treasury and about 2,000 people are subject to visa restrictions by the US State Department.

“The United States will continue to promote accountability by those who undermine democracy in Venezuela,” Blinken warned.

The CNE proclaimed Maduro’s re-election in the elections of July 28 without publishing the voting minutes, but the opposition claims the victory of its standard bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, who recently traveled to Spain and asked for asylum in that country.

Reaction of Venezuela

The Government of Venezuela described as a “new crime of aggression” the sanctions announced by the United States against 16 officials of the Caribbean country, including members of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Parliament, for “falsely” proclaiming President Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the July elections.

In a statement, the Venezuelan Executive rejected, in “the most energetic terms,” this “new crime of aggression committed by the Government of the United States of America against Venezuela, by imposing unilateral, illegitimate and illegal coercive measures on a group of state officials.”

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For the Chavista government, the United States demonstrates, “once again, its total contempt for international law, the self-determination of the peoples and the democratic will of Venezuelans.”

“Little can be expected”

However, he continued, “little can be expected from the most hostile and bloodthirsty power that humanity has known, responsible for millions of murders in the world with genocidal partners and a history of indifference to the needs of its own citizens.”

With these “erroneously called sanctions, which have been shamefully promoted by the fascist extreme right,” as Chavismo usually refers to the opposition, “they break and violate the agreements signed in Qatar” between both American countries.

Guterres’ refection

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, believes that the new sanctions of the US Government against 16 high-ranking officials of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, whom he accuses of hindering the last elections, will not help find a way out of the political crisis in which the South American country is immersed.

“I don’t think they will help,” said Guterres spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, when asked about it in his daily press conference from the United Nations headquarters in New York.

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He immediately added that in the UN general secretariat the “concern for respect for human rights” and for the “lack of transparency” still prevailing today after the presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela continues.

Venezuela affirms that António Guterres is on the side of those who “illegly sanction”

In turn, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said that Guterres sides with those who “illegally sanction,” in relation to the new measures imposed by the United States, despite the fact that the Portuguese diplomat considered that these penalties do not help solve the crisis in the Caribbean country.

“The UN secretary general avoids condemning the application of unilateral coercive measures, he takes the side of those who sanction illegally, it is an affront to the mandate that the States have given him, all to defend the aggressors of Venezuela,” Gil said in a message published on Telegram.

The foreign minister indicated that Guterres, instead of showing solidarity with the “victims of the blockade and sanctions,” sides with the “liars and victimizers, of the fascists who violate rights and do not know the Venezuelan State.”

“(It is) urgent that the secretary general return to international legality, respects Venezuela and asserts the institutions of the system to which it is due,” he added.

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International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.