CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Canada imposed economic sanctions on Tuesday on five Venezuelan officials, including the head of the country’s high court, accusing them of engaging in electoral fraud during the disputed July presidential election.
Both Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolás Maduro and the political opposition — with its candidate Edmundo González, who is now in exile in Spain, and its leader Maria Corina Machado, who is in hiding in Venezuela — claim to have won the July 28 vote.
Tuesday’s announcement from Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly marked the fourth time Canada has sanctioned individuals linked to Maduro’s government.
Maduro’s government swiftly denounced the sanctions as “extortionate measures” and “a failed attempt to pressure Venezuela.”
The development comes less than a month before Venezuela’s next presidential term is set to begin.
Canada’s measure seeks to add pressure on Venezuela’s de facto authorities to “respect the will of the Venezuelan people,” according to the statement from the ministry of foreign affairs.
“The sanctions also aim to dissuade the authorities from taking further actions that violate the human rights of protesters, journalists, opposition leaders and other members of civil society,” the ministry said.
In addition to Caryslia Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, those sanctioned include two judges, a prosecutor and a member of the country’s electoral body.
Venezuela’s protracted political crisis deepened after the highly anticipated presidential election. The country’s National Electoral Council, stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner hours after polls closed.
However, unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts.
Meanwhile, the opposition, led by Machado, collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines, posted them online and said the voting records showed that the faction’s candidate, González, had won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.
Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s high court, also stacked with ruling-party loyalists and led by Rodríguez, to audit the results.
The court subsequently reaffirmed his victory.
“Today’s sanctions deliver a clear message: Canada will not stand by as the Maduro regime continues to ignore the democratic will of the Venezuelan people,” Joly said. “A peaceful, negotiated and Venezuelan-led solution is needed to resolve this crisis.”
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