Versión Español
Spanish.- Officially recognizing Edmundo González Urrutia as the president-elect of Venezuela was the first step taken by Joe Biden’s administration after the U.S. presidential elections to increase pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s regime for the fraud committed on July 28. This Wednesday, the White House continued in this direction with the announcement of new sanctions against 21 officials of the dictatorship, most of them for their responsibility in the repression in the days following the elections. Among those sanctioned is Diosdado Cabello’s daughter, Daniella Cabello.
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With this measure, the U.S. government seeks to punish those responsible for undermining democracy, systematically violating human rights, and repressing the Venezuelan people, as explained by the Treasury Department through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Among the 21 individuals sanctioned are 15 heads of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), the Bolivarian National Police (PNB), the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), the Militia, and the General Direction of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM).
Assets blocked due to fraud and repression
The sanctions include the blocking of “all property and interests in property and of any entity that is owned directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more” by the 21 individuals sanctioned; as well as exposing to sanctions “financial institutions and other persons who engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals,” prohibiting the “making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.”
“They have supported and carried out Maduro’s orders to repress civil society in his efforts to fraudulently declare himself the winner of Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, thus ignoring the will of the overwhelming majority of Venezuelan voters who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as their next president,” said senior officials of the Democratic administration, which will hand over power on January 20 to President-elect Donald Trump, who appointed Cuban-American Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, known for his staunch fight against the dictatorial regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
“The United States will not tolerate the continued subversion of democratic norms by Maduro and his allies (…) The Venezuelan people have shown an unwavering commitment to democracy, facing unjust detentions, censorship, and violent repression,” added the U.S. officials.
Today, @USTreasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning 21 security and cabinet-level officials aligned with Nicolas Maduro. https://t.co/Sb5YNPZAVB
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) November 27, 2024
The 21 individuals sanctioned
“The list of sanctioned individuals released this Wednesday by the Treasury Department consists of 21 Chavista officials, each described as follows by the U.S. agency:
- Dilio Guillermo Rodriguez Diaz is a Capital REDI commander. Previously, he served as the commander of Capital 81 of the ZODI and as the rector of the Bolivarian Military University.
- Jose Yunior Herrera Duarte has served as head of GNB Zone Command No. 51 since 2022.
- Carlos Eduardo Aigster Villamizar has served as commander and division general for Miranda State of the ZODI since 2023. He also served as the commander of GNB Zone Command No. 62 in Bolivar state.
- Jesus Rafael Villamizar Gomez has served as the Central REDI commander since 2024. Previously, he served as La Guaira ZODI commander and as the head of the Presidential Honor Guard. He is suspected of personal enrichment while employed as a high-ranking Venezuelan official.
- Angel Daniel Balestrini Jaramillo previously served as the ZODI Aragua commander.
- Pablo Ernesto Lizano Colmenter previously servedas the ZODI Carabobo commander.
- Luis Gerardo Reyes Rivero previously served as commander and division general for the Yaracuy ZODI.
- Jose Alfredo Rivera Bastardo has served as GNB director of services for Maintenance of Internal Order Division since 2024. He previously served as the commander of ZODI Falcon.
- Alberto Alexander Matheus Melendez has served as the GNB director of Logistics Division since 2024. He previously served as he chief of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Command.
- Jesus Ramon Fernandez Alayon is the director of Operational Readiness of the GNB. He also held previous roles as the chief of the Coastal Surveillance Command and as the commander of GNB Command Zone in Lara.
- Ruben Dario Santiago Servigna has served as brigadier general of the BNP since 2023. He is also the officer in charge at the national level of the implementation of the electoral operation of citizen security.
- Alexis Jose Rodriguez Cabello is the director of SEBIN. He is the cousin of Maduro’s Minister of Interior, Justice, and Peace, Diosdado Cabello Rondon, who has been sanctioned by OFAC since 2018.
- Javier Jose Marcana Tabata is the head of the DGCIM and the Presidential Honor Guard.
- Orlando Ramon Romero Bolivar has commanded the Bolivarian Militia since 2024. He also previously served as the Central REDI commander.
- Anibal Eduardo Coronado Millan has served as minister of Maduro’s Office of the President since April 2024 and as Government Performance Monitor of Maduro’s Office of the President. He is also the “chief of government” in the Insular Territory of Francisco de Miranda. Previously, he served in the Presidential Honor Guard. Maduro’s Office of the President has carried out Maduro’s directive to commit electoral fraud, repress Venezuelans, and continue anti-democratic acts.
- William Alfredo Castillo Bolle has served as Maduro’s vice-minister of Anti-Blockade Policies in the Venezuelan Ministry of Economy, Finances, and External Trade since 2022.
- Ricardo Jose Menendez Prieto has been Maduro’s vice president of Planning in the Office of the Vice President since 2014. He previously served as Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Industry, and Minister of Science, Technology, and Intermediary Industry.
- Freddy Alfred Nazaret Nanez Contreras is Maduro’s minister of People’s Power for Communication and the sectoral vice president of Communication, Culture, and Tourism. He has served as sectoral vice president for Communication and Culture and Minister of Communication and Information. Previously, he served as president of the Venezuelan National Television.
- Daniella Desiree Cabello Contreras has served as Maduro’s president of the Venezuelan Export Promotion Agency since September 2024. The Venezuelan Export Promotion Agency is tasked with diversifying Venezuelan exports and with jointly drafting the Unified Protocol for Non-Oil Exports and Related Activities, which creates a single payment for exports from Venezuela. She previously served as the president of Venezuela’s Country Brand Foundation who reported directly to Maduro’s executive vice president, Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, who has been sanctioned by OFAC since 2018. She is also the daughter of Diosdado Cabello Rondon.
- Julio Jose Garcia Zerpa has been Maduro’s minister of Penitentiary Services since 2024. Previously, he served as deputy for the state of Tachira and holds the position of first vice president of the Finance Commission of the Maduro-aligned National Assembly (AN). Many opposition figures and other political prisoners are also unjustly imprisoned. Venezuelan prisons have been criticized for depriving prisoners of their liberties, critical overcrowding, procedural delay, and prison neglect. In June, inmates from prisons across Venezuela led a hunger strike, demanding humanitarian measures and transfers to facilities closer to their relatives or where they were previously held.
- America Valentina Perez Davilahas served as second vice president of the AN. The AN has supported Maduro’s fraudulent claim of victory in the July 28 presidential election.
