WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2020) Anyone deemed to be undermining free and fair elections in Venezuela is at risk of US sanctions, Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told reporters on Tuesday.
"People who are actively engaged in subverting democracy in Venezuela are engaging in sanctionable activities," the US envoy said. "For activities involving... subverting elections, people would certainly be engaging in sanctionable activities."
Abrams was asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Indira Alfonzo Izaguirre, president of the country's National Electoral Council, for her role in organizing the upcoming Venezuelan parliamentary elections. Alfonzo Izaguirre was sanctioned by Canada in 2018.
The Special Representative said that while he cannot comment on specific cases, he noted that the United States does not hesitate to sanction individuals it deems as complicit in upholding the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, citing the recently announced sanctions and arrest warrant against Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice President Maikel Jose Moreno Perez.
The Venezuelan parliamentary elections will be held on December 6, Alfonzo Izaguirre announced earlier this month. The United States has declared that the election has already been sabotaged by officials allegedly loyal to Maduro.
The previous parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela in 2015, the powers of the current convocation of the National Assembly expire in December 2020. However, the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, more than once last year suggested holding early elections to the National Assembly, which from January 2019 to January 2020 was headed by opposition leader Juan Guaido.
