Venezuela accuses US of sabotaging presidential election with new sanctions
Most opposition parties have boycotted the vote, a sign President Nicolas Maduro says, that they know they cannot win
Venezuela has accused the United States of using new sanctions against its government’s top officials to sabotage a controversial presidential election on Sunday, which the country’s opposition claims has been rigged.
Washington increased pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government on Friday, accusing him of profiting from illegal narcotics shipments and also imposing sanctions against the second-most powerful man in the country, ruling Socialist Party vice-president Diosdado Cabello.
The US has already imposed sanctions against Maduro for alleged human rights abuses and blamed him for Venezuela’s current economic and political crises. But Friday marked the first time that Washington publicly linked Maduro to the drug trade.
In a statement, Maduro’s government called the sanctions part of “a systematic campaign of aggression” by President Donald Trump’s administration and said they had no legal base.
“It’s not surprising that on the eve of a new vote, when the Venezuelan people will come out to defend their democracy against the imperialist aggressions that try and derail it, once again the US regime tries to sabotage the elections,” it said.